Development of optical sensors based on rhodium and platinum has potential for applications in Russia
Mathematical modeling of the optical properties of spherical platinum and rhodium nanoparticles carried out at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) in Kaliningrad will allow creating optical sensors to study changes in various biological objects with pathologies, the university's press service said Monday.
"These results will be used to carry out chemical synthesis of rhodium and platinum nanoparticles, ... [which] will allow more precise examination of biological objects (platelets, proteins, etc.) using optical methods. <...> The main focus of the research is the creation of optical sensors that register the smallest changes in the target biological objects in case of pathology," the press service said.
The press service noted that rhodium and platinum are noble metals with low toxicity and a low degree of oxidation. The first property makes them suitable for biosensor applications, such as the precise study of amino acid composition in cells, proteins, etc. And the low oxidizability allows for sufficient sensory properties in ultraviolet, as demonstrated in the work.
Since both platinum and rhodium are significantly cheaper in Russia than, for example, in the United States, the EU, and China, the development of optical sensors based on such materials has prospects for application in Russia.
The obtained results allow us to determine the most optimal algorithms for calculating the optical properties of rhodium and platinum nanostructures in order to use the latter in experimental research, as well as to predict their use for creating more effective optical sensors.
The results were published in the Nanomaterials journal. The research was conducted at the North-West Center for Mathematical Research, named after Sofia Kovalevskaya.
