## 7 Nanodiagnostics and Imaging
### Ortelectronic Interactions of Gold Nanoparticles with 2D Materials  
[PERSON] \({}^{1}\), [PERSON] \({}^{2}\), [PERSON] \({}^{2,3}\) and [PERSON] \({}^{2,3}\)  
\({}^{1}\) Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA  
\({}^{2}\) Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA  
\({}^{3}\) Department of Medical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33630, USA  
Optical spectroscopy has been widely used for sensing applications. Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL) signals provide rich spectroscopic information about the vibrational and electronic properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (2D TMD) materials and heterostructures. Since the spontaneous Raman signals are weak, they may be enhanced by the chemical and electromagnetic mechanisms using plasmonic silver and gold nanoparticles (NPs) leading to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We investigate the effects of the size and shape of the NPs deposited on lateral MoS\({}_{2}\)-WS\({}_{2}\) heterostructures using a combination of nanoscale scanning probe microscopy techniques including the correlated atomic force microscopy (AFM), Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), and tip-enhanced PL (TEPL) and Raman (TERS) spectroscopy. This information may be useful in various applications such as electronics and biosensing.  
A MicroRNA-21-Responsive Doxorubicin--Releasing Sticky-Flare for Synergistic Effect of MicroRNA Silencing and Chemotherapy  
[PERSON] \({}^{1,2}\), [PERSON] \({}^{1}\), [PERSON] \({}^{2}\), [PERSON] \({}^{2,\star}\) and [PERSON] \({}^{3,\star}\)  
\({}^{1}\) School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, China  
\({}^{2}\) Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, Department of Chemistry and Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA  
\({}^{3}\) Nanobioengineering/Bioelectronics Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, USA  
\({}^{\star}\) Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.-Z.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (W.T.); Tel./Fax: +86-6358-239195  
A sticky-flare gold nanoparticle probe (AuNP-probe) is designed by the combination of locked nucleic acid functionalized microRNA silencing technology for intracellular microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) sensitively detecting, fluorescence imaging, localizing, and silencing. Overexpression miRNA-21 in cancer cells serve as endogenous drug release stimuli to trigger the release of probe-loaded doxorubicin (Dox), which soon translocates into cell nuclei. This multifunctional Dox-loaded AuNP-probe (Dox-AuNP-probe) could induce cancer cell apoptosis effectively through the synergistic effect of gene silencing and chemotherapy. This Dox-AuNP-probe exhibits superior drug potency compared to free Dox molecules with the cell inhibition rates of 57% to 20% for wild-type cancer cells and 30%to 0% for drug-resistent cancer cells at 72 h, and this strategy not only has the function of sensing, but also can effectively bypass drug resistance. Therefore, the Dox-AuNP-probe represents a promising nanotheranostic platform for future applications in cancer molecular imaging and therapy.