In situ Production of Polymer-Capped Silver Nanoparticles for Optical Biosensing

We report on the preparation and spectroscopic characterization of a novel nanocomposite consisting of silver nanoparticles and a fluorescent polymer obtained by in situ ps laser ablation of a silver target. While the polymer is able to detect the fungus Paecilomyces variotii by fluorescence quenching, the composite with silver nanoparticles permits an interaction with both cell walls of spores and mycelia without any appreciable reduction of the overall fluorescence quantum yield.