Following the success of the previous tri-annual GOLD conferences on the applications of gold in high-technology (Quebec 2022; Paris 2018; Cardiff 2015), the GOLD 2025 conference will be held on May 11-14, 2025 in San Sebastian, with an amazing lineup of invited speakers. Check out the GOLD20205 web page and register to guarantee your seat!

After a successful period of over 5 years at the Bionanoplasmonics Lab, Clara Garcia-Astrain is leaving for her next career stage. After obtaining a prestigious Fellowship, Clara will soon start her own group at our neighbor institute, Polymat. We will definitely stay in touch but we will miss you. Best wishes for a great and smooth start!

In the context of our ERC Advanced Grant, 4DBIOSERS, The European Research Council has awarded an additional Proof of Concept Grant aiming at exploring the commercial opportunities of our 3D tumor models as a drug testing platform. More information available: CIC biomaGUNE; ERC

Luis Liz-Marzán has received an "honoris causa" Doctorate in Sciences from the University of Antwerp. In a beautiful ceremony, where Prof. Sara Bals pronounced a laudatio, Luis received a diploma and the medal of the University of Antwerp from the Rector, Prof. Herman Van Goethem. We are very proud of this recognition to the group's research.

We are proud to see that our colleague Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi has been promoted to the category of Junior Group Leader at CIC biomaGUNE. As an Ikerbasque Fellow, Dorleta starts the new "Hybrid Biofunctional Materials" Laboratory, to work on the design of hybrid biomaterials responsive to specific stimuli, designed to gain a better understanding of cell-material interactions, propose advances in tissue engineering techniques, and seek solutions in the field of translational medicine. We are already missing you, and we wish you best of fun and success in your independent career!!

Within the EU-funded DNA-Fairylights project, we are calling skilled and enthusiastic candidates for a new postdoctoral position on the preparation of optical tags for DNA information storage. Application deadline: 12/10/2022. More details here

A new book collection is about to be released. " World Scientific Reference on Plasmonic Nanomaterials" encompasses multiple aspects of the exciting field of nanoplasmonics in 5 volumes edited by international experts, under the coordination of Luis Liz-Marzán. Please download the "leaflet" describing this comprehensive collection.

The Spanish Lilly Foundation (Fundación Lilly), announced today the selection of Luis Liz-Marzán for the "2021 Prize in Preclinical Biomedical Research", for his work in the field of nanoscience and nanomedicine.” The Prizes on Biomedical Research are given annually, in the categories of Preclinical and Clinical Research to scientists who have significantly contributed to the development of Biomedicine and Health Sciences in Spain. See the announcement here (in Spanish).

In the context of the European Soft Matter Infrastructure consortium (EUSMI), a video has been released, highlighting our collaboration with the EMAT laboratory at the University of Antwerp and the company DENS Solutions. The selected project deals with the temperature stability of gold nanostars, studied by in situ electron tomography. You can watch the video here.

The French Chemical Society (Société Chimique de France), announced today the selection of Luis Liz-Marzán for the "Miguel Catalán - Paul Sabatier" Prize, for his major work in physical chemistry of colloids applied to nanoplasmonics, as well as for his implication with the French community. This award is given by the SCF to a Spanish chemist biannually. See the announcement here (in French).

Our group has devised a new mechanism to induce the growth of groovy gold nanorods with high optical activity. Essential collaborations included morphological characterization by electron tomography by EMAT (U. Antwerp),molecular dynamics simulations of micellar systems at UCM / IQFR-CSIC, and electromagnetic modeling at UNEX / UVIGO. This highly collaborative work was published in"Science 2020, 368, 1472".

The book " Colloidal Synthesis of Plasmonic Nanometals" has just been released. It features a selection of exciting review articles from our group, enjoy your reading!

The German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker), announced the selection of Luis Liz-Marzán for the "Hermanos Elhuyar - Hans Goldschmidt Lectureship Award, for his work on the synthesis and growth mechanisms of (plasmonic) metal nanoparticles with controlled composition, size and morphology. This award is given by the GDCh to a Spanish chemist biannually.

In collaboration with Dr. Ander Izeta at Biodonostia Health Research Institute, and in connection with our recently funded ERC Advanced Grant, Four-Dimensional Monitoring of Tumour Growth by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering, we are calling skilled and enthusiastic candidates for a new PhD position on bioink fabrication and 3D printing. See the full anouncement here

Our paper on In vivo formation of protein corona on gold nanoparticles has been selected for the Nanoscale 10th Anniversary: Top Authors Themed issue.

We have prepared a short cartoon video to describe or recently launched ERC Grant, 4DbioSERS. Please visit our 4DbioSERS page and watch the video. Have fun!

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 92, issue 1) of Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. illustrates an account paper, on "Recent Advances in Chiral Plasmonics - Towards Biomedical Applications". View the article.

Luis Liz-Marzán has been appointed as a new Associate Editor for ACS Nano, one of the most prestigious journals in the broad areas of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. With a current impact factor of 13.709, ACS Nano is an international forum for the communication of comprehensive articles on nanoscience and nanotechnology research at the interfaces of chemistry, biology, materials science, physics, and engineering. Moreover, the journal helps facilitate communication among scientists from these research communities in developing new research opportunities, advancing the field through new discoveries, and reaching out to scientists at all levels.

The Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities has announced the selection of Luis Liz-Marzán for the National Research Award "Enrique Moles" in Chemical Science and Technology for his numerous and significant contributions to the fields of Colloid Chemistry and Nanoscience. His activity has been dedicated to opening new frontiers at the nanoscale, from a chemical point of view, with the objective to resolve emerging problems of high technological importance, in particular in the biomedical field. This is the most important recognition of scientific research in Spain. We are delighted to see that our work and enthusiasm are recognized at the highest level.See the official announcement here (in Spanish).

October 1st has been the official start date for our recently funded ERC Advanced Grant, Four-Dimensional Monitoring of Tumour Growth by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering, 4DBIOSERS. We welcome our new students Christian and Eliza, as the first specific hires for this exciting project. A dedicated web page for the project is being prepared.

Luis Liz-Marzán has been invited to join Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe). The object of Academia Europaea is the advancement and propagation of excellence in scholarship in the humanities, law, the economic, social, and political sciences, mathematics, medicine, and all branches of natural and technological sciences anywhere in the world for the public benefit and for the advancement of the education of the public of all ages. Click here to see the list of new members

In connection with our recently funded ERC Advanced Grant, Four-Dimensional Monitoring of Tumour Growth by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering we are recruiting skilled and enthusiastic candidates for a postdoctoral researcher position in the field of 3D printing of hybrid plasmonic materials. See the full anouncement here

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 57, issue 33) of Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. illustrates a collaborative paper with our colleagues at Jiangnan University, on "MicroRNA�Directed Intracellular Self�Assembly of Chiral Nanorod Dimers". View the article.

The PhD thesis by Guillermo González-Rubio entitled "Synthesis and Assembly of Uniform Plasmonic Gold Nanostructures for Biomedical Applications", has received two awards! The thesis was carried out at Complutense University of Madrid and CIC biomaGUNE, under joint supervision of Andrés Guerrero-Martínez and Luis Liz-Marzán. It has not only received the Extraordinary thesis award from Complutense University but it was also selected as the best thesis of the year in chemistry at all universities in Madrid by RSEQ.

In connection with our recently funded ERC Advanced Grant, Four-Dimensional Monitoring of Tumour Growth by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering we are starting recruitment of skilled and enthusiastic candidates for two PhD positions. See the full anouncement here

The prestigious journal Advanced Materials has issued a "Hall of Fame series of invited-only review articles, which showcases the outstanding achievements of leading international researchers in the field of materials science". We are proud to be part of this inaugural Hall of Fame with our review article Silica-Coated Plasmonic Metal Nanoparticles in Action. We hope you will enjoy reading it!

Our recently completed MSCA Fellowship PHELLINI has been highlighted at the European Commission "Community Research and Development Information Service", CORDIS. The main summary reads "EU-funded researchers have developed a thermometer that can measure temperatures at the nanoscale in biological systems. This ability could lead to new targeted heat-based therapies for diseases such as cancer."

The European Research Council has just released the results of the ERC Advanced Grants 2017. One of these highly prestigious 2.5 MEur grants has been assigned to our laboratory. The project entitled Four-Dimensional Monitoring of Tumour Growth by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering will address the mechanisms of tumor evolution. We look forward to this exciting challenge!

Prof. Sara Skrabalak, from Indiana University, has just arrived to spend a 4-month mini-sabatical stay at our laboratory. Her visit has been funded by the Fulbright Program and we look forward to a fruitful exchange of ideas and materials for a longer term collaboration. WELCOME Sara!

María Sanromán has been awarded a PhD degree after a successful presentation and discussion of her work, entitled "Colorimetric assays for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphism based on plasmonic nanoparticles". The thesis was carried out in the context of a collaboration project with colleagues ar the neighboring institutes Biodonostia and Polymat, under the supervision of Marek Grzelczak and co-supervision by Luis Liz-Marzán. WARM CONGRATULATIONS TO MARIA!!

This weeks issue of Science includes a second paper by our group, this time in collaboration with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. We report the world record in optical monodispersity for gold nanorods, as a result of controlled irradiation with femtosecond lasers. This spectacular effect is explained by means of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. See the paper here

The latest issue of Science includes a collaborative paper to which our group has contributed, in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science, University of Antwerp and University of Illinois at Chicago. We report the formation of crystalline arrangements of gold nanoparticles (nanoallotropes), as a result of chemical etching after binary self-assembly at liquid-air interfaces. A wide variety of crystalline nanoparticle lattices were obtained, some of which had not been reported earlier and offer opportunities in various applications, including SERS. See the paper here

In the annual meeting of the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC), held at the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, Luis Liz-Marzán, received the 2017 Blaise Pascal Medal in Materials Science, â€�in recognition of his contributions to the understanding of metal nanocrystal growth and self-assembly, plasmonic properties and sensing applicationsâ€�. During the event, Luis delivered a lecture entitled "Colloidal nanoplasmonics".

Two of our group members were awarded best presentation prizes at the 31st Cnference of the European Colloid and Interface Society (ECIS 2017). Eric Hill got a Best oral presentation of a young scientist award for his talk entitled "Plasmonic Monitoring of Surface Topography Effects on Biofilm Growth". Christoph Hanske received a prize for his poster "Self-Assembly of Plasmonic Supercrystals and Metamolecules". Congratulations guys!!

After 5 years as Ikerbasque Fellow at the Bionanoplasmonics Lab, Marek Grzelczak starts today a permanent position as Ikerbasque Research Associate at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC). Marek has made an essential contribution to the establishment of the group, not only contributing to no less than 32 high quality publications and leading his own projects, but also supervising PhD students, postdocs and visiting researchers, taking care of the organization of the lab for a long time, and even designing the lab's logo. We are certainly going to miss you Marek, and we wish you much success in your independent career!!

The new EU Infrastructure Project EUSMI (European Infrastructure for Spectroscopy, Scattering and Imaging of Soft Matter) has been officially launched. Even though the activity started on July 1st, the official kick-off meeting took place last week. EUSMI provides the community of European soft-matter researchers with an open-access infrastructure as a platform to support and extend their research, covering characterization, synthesis, and modeling. The Bionanoplasmonics Lab participates in both research activities toward the development of novel nanoparticles and nanocomposites, as well as in "transnational access" on synthesis and upscaling. More details can be found at the EUSMI web page.

Our recently completed ERC Advanced Grant PLASMAQUO has been highlighted at the European Commission "Community Research and Development Information Service", CORDIS. The main summary reads "EU-funded researchers with the PLASMAQUO project have developed new way to visualise chemical communication within microbial populations, which could lead to new anti-bacterial therapeutic strategies with relevant biomedical applications."

Guillermo González-Rubio successfully presented his PhD entitled "Synthesis and Assembly of Uniform Plasmonic Gold Nanostructures for Biomedical Applications", which he carried out at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and CIC biomaGUNE, under the joint supervision of Andrés Guerrero-Martínez and Luis Liz-Marzán. Guillermo performed extremely well during the long discussion with the jury and obtained the cum laude distinction. CONGRATULATIONS GUILLE!!

The editors of the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science have delivered the JCIS-Darsh Wasan award to Luis Liz-Marzán, during the 7th International Colloids Conference, taking place in Sitges this week. Luis delivered a plenary lecture entitled "Design of colloidal nanocomposites for detection and imaging".

The latest issue of Science includes a perspective article from our group, which intends to provide guidance toward further research on the growth of anisotropic crystals at the nanometer scale.

The Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) has just announced the recipients of RSEQ Awards 2017. We are very happy that Marek Grzelczak has been awarded one of the four 2017 Awards for Young Researchers RSEQ 2017. These awards are intended to recognize trajectories of young researchers working in any area of chemistry, pointing toward scientific leadership in their respective fields.

The European Academy of Sciences (EURASC) has just announced the recipients of its awards for 2017. We are proud to announce that Luis Liz-Marzán has been awarded the 2017 Blaise Pascal Medal in Materials Science, in recognition of his contributions to the understanding of nanocrystal growth and self-assembly, plasmonic properties and sensing applications. The European Academy of Sciences established the Blaise Pascal Medal in 2003 to recognise an outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to science and technology and the promotion of excellence in research and education. The award ceremony will take place at the next Symposium of the European Academy of Sciences, in Lisbon (Portugal) on October 26th and 27th.

Former BNP Lab PhD student and current collaborator Leonardo Scarabelli has been selected as one of the five winners of the 2017 IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists. Congratulations! The award will be presented at the 46th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress, to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 9 - 14 July 2017.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 4, issue 2) of ACS Photonics illustrates a paper from our group in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Vigo, University of Extremadura and ICFO, on the "Optimization of Nanoparticle-Based SERS Substrates through Large-Scale Realistic Simulations". View the article.

Luis Liz-Marzan is recipient of the 2017 JCIS Darsh Wasan Award. This annual award was given for the first time in 2007, for outstanding contributions within surface and colloid chemistry. Initially designated the "JCIS Award for Outstanding Life-time Achievements in Surface and Colloid Chemistry," the award has now been renamed the "JCIS - Darsh Wasan Award" in recognition of the achievements of the previous Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, during his twenty-two years of service. In the words of the selection committee, Luis Liz-Marzan is "celebrated for his outstanding contributions to a range of topics in surface and colloid chemistry, notably nanoplasmonics".

You can download here the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab report, containing a summary of the activities conducted by the group during 2016.

Luis Liz-Marzán has been elected as a new member of the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC). The European Academy of hnology and their essential roles in fostering social and economic development.

Our recent paper on Optimization of Nanoparticle-Based SERS Substrates through Large-Scale Realistic Simulations has been selected by the editors of ACS Photonics as "ACS Editor Choice". This label makes the article open access, under an ACS AuthorChoice License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes. ACS Publications selects only one paper per day as ACS Editor's Choice, from the whole portfolio of ACS journals.

Our viewpoint article providing A "Tips and Tricks" Practical Guide to the Synthesis of Gold Nanorods, has been identified as one of the top 20 Most Read Articles in the ACS journal J. Phys. Chem. Letters, during the whole year 2016. Read our tips, use our tricks!

Our review article on the role of Oleylamine in Nanoparticle Synthesis, has been identified as one of the top 20 Most Read Articles in the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials, during the whole year 2016. You are still in time to find out why!

Thomson Reuters has released the new list of Highly Cited Researchers, based on Highly Cited Papers published during the 11-year period 2004-2014. Highly Cited Papers are defined as those that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science. Our group leader Luis Liz-Marzan is listed in two categories: Chemistry and Materials Science

The PhD thesis presented by our former student Leonardo Scarabelli, "Rational Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Anisotropic Plasmonic Nanoparticles", has been selected by the University of Vigo for the Outstanding thesis award of the year. Many congratulations on a very well deserved recognition for his excellent work!

The SACS 16 Conference was held at the Palace of Miramar and hosted over 150 participants from all over the world. Thanks to the high scientific level of all contributions (16 invited talks, 18 oral presentations and 75 posters), the conference has been a real success in all respects. We are grateful to all participants and sponsors for their support and contributions.

Our Topical Review on Current Challenges toward In Vitro Cellular Validation of Inorganic Nanoparticles has been selected by the editors of Bioconjugate Chemistry as "ACS Editor Choice". This label makes the article open access, under an ACS AuthorChoice License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes. ACS Publications selects only one paper per day as ACS Editor's Choice, from the whole portfolio of ACS journals.

Malou Henriksen-Lacey has received an award for Outstanding Abstract at the International Conference on Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, ICONAN 2016. Malou's abstract was entitled "Thermosensitive nanogels with multiple anti-tumour associated effects" and was selected among all the contributions to the conference. Congratulations to Malou and also to Malte Strozyk and Susana Carregal-Romero, the main co-authors of the work.

The inside cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 22, issue 38) of Chem. Eur. J. illustrates our paper in collaboration with the group of Ramón Martínez-Máñez at the Polytechnical University of Valencia, on "Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering and Gated Materials for Sensing Applications: The Ultrasensitive Detection of Mycoplasma and Cocaine".View the article.

Our most recent paper has just been released online at the prestigious journal Nature Materials. In collaboration with our partner Colloid Chemistry Group at the University of Vigo, we demonstrate "detection and imaging of quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm communities by surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering". View the article.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 12, issue 29) of Small illustrates a paper from our partner Colloid Chemistry Group at the University of Vigo, on "Encapsulation of Single Plasmonic Nanoparticles within ZIF-8 and SERS Analysis of the MOF Flexibility". View the article.

A special issue on Advanced Particle Characterization Techniques has been published in the Wiley journal Particle & Particle Systems Characterization. Guest editors of this issue are Sara Bals (University of Antwerp) and Luis Liz-Marzán. A paper reporting a collaboration between the groups of the guest editors is also included in this special issue: A New Method for Quantitative XEDS Tomography of Complex Heteronanostructures. Our former group member Marta Ibisate is co-author of the cover article.

Our recently published paper on Collective Plasmonic Properties in Few-Layer Gold Nanorod Supercrystals is now illustrated with a LiveSlides presentation by our former postdoc Cyrille Hamon. In order to see the presentation, please scroll to item 7 of the Supporting Information.

A "Tips and Tricks" Practical Guide to the Synthesis of Gold Nanorods has been selected for inclusion in the virtual issue Best Practices for Reporting the Properties of Materials and Devices. By compiling this ACS Select virtual issue, the Editors of Chemistry of Materials, ACS Catalysis, ACS Energy Letters, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, and ACS Nano hope to draw the attention of authors, readers, editors of journals, and funding agencies, to the importance of publishing work that is original, reproducible, and the product of reflection and care.

Our recently published paper on Chiral and Achiral Nanodumbbell Dimers: The Effect of Geometry on Plasmonic Properties, in collaboration with the groups of Stephan Link and Peter Nordlander at Rice University, has been highlighted at nanotechweb.org.

The back cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 5, issue 9) of Adv. Healthcare. Mater. illustrates our paper, in collaboration with the group of Claire Wilhelm at Universit&éacute; Paris Diderot, on "Cancer Cell Internalization of Gold Nanostars Impacts Their Photothermal Efficiency In Vitro and In Vivo: Toward a Plasmonic Thermal Fingerprint in Tumoral Environment". View the article.

Our recently published account on Reshaping, Fragmentation, and Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles Assisted by Pulse Lasers is now illustrated with a LiveSlides presentation by the talented student Guillermo González-Rubio.

Our paper on a Pen-on-Paper Approach Toward the Design of Universal Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrates has been one of the 25 most accessed papers in the journal Small during the period 04/2015 to 03/2016.

Our paper on Hierarchical organization and molecular diffusion in gold nanorod/silica supercrystal nanocomposites has been selected as Hot article and included in the themed collection: 2016 Hot Articles in Nanoscale.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) announced the appointment of a team of geographically dispersed chief editors to lead ACS Omega, a new multidisciplinary, online journal that represents a new approach from ACS Publications: a peer-reviewed open access venue for the publication of technically sound research. Luis Liz-Marzán will be the inaugural Editor-in-Chief in Europe. Read the press release to learn more.

Four PhD theses were successfully defended on February 25 and 26 at the University of Vigo, by our great students Ana Bel&éacute;n Serrano-Montes, Leonardo Scarabelli, Andrea La Porta and Marc Coronado-Puchau. All of them completed their PhDs with brilliant presentations and intense discussions with their respective juries. We wish them all the best in their careers

The inside front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 52, issue 23) of Chem. Commun. illustrates our communication on "Janus gold nanoparticles obtained via spontaneous binary polymer shell segregation". View the article.

You can download here the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab report containing a summary of the activities conducted during 2015.

Starting in 2016, the Bionanoplasmonics Laboratory group leader, Luis Liz-Marzán, has joined two Editorial Advisory Boards: Accounts of Chemical Research, published by the American Chemical Society, publishes concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. Faraday Discussions, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, publishes the papers presented and a record of the questions, discussion and debate that took place at Faraday Discussions meetings.

Two of the most recent papers by our lab have been selected to illustrate the cover of their corresponding issues. The paper by Yusong Wang et al. "Engineering Structural Diversity in Gold Nanocrystals by Ligand-Mediated Interface Control" was featured in Volume 11, issue 23 of Chemistry of Materials. The paper by Sentosun et al., "Combination of HAADF-STEM and ADF-STEM Tomography for Core-Shell Hybrid Materials" was featured in Volume 32, issue 12 of Particle & Particle Systems Characterization.

A Presentation of our recently published article "A Tips and Tricks Practical Guide to the Synthesis of Gold Nanorods" J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2015, 6, 4270-4279 can be viewed at ACS LiveSlides TM.

Our recent outreach activities include the vist to two High schools ( IES La Cala de Mijas and La Salle Beasain) as well as a contribution to a Nanofotonics video.

Our tutorial review published at Chem Soc Rev in shape control in Au NP synthesis within the top 15 most downloaded articles between July-September 2015. More information here. You can read it the review here.

The past, present and Future of Photonics and Plasmonics is discussed in this ACS Webinar by Harold Giessen (University of Stuttgart), Luis Liz-Marzán (CIC biomaGUNE) and Jennifer Dione (Stanford Univeristy). You can view it at here.

Our recently published article "Templated Growth of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering-Active Branched Gold Nanoparticles within Radial Mesoporous Silica Shells"publised at ACS Nano has been highlighted at nanotechweb.org

Development of gold nanoparticles for optical, optoacoustic and x-ray medical imaging Professor Kostas Kostarelos and Professor Luis Liz-Marzán

The objective of this fully-funded 3-year PhD opportunity is to exploit gold-based nanoparticles (Au NPs) to improve the diagnostic potential of biomedical imaging for clinical intervention. The project is co-funded by CIC biomaGUNE, providing full support for PhD tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend at RCUK rates (£14, 057). Funding is available to UK/EU nationals only due to the nature of the award with the PhD due to commence January 2016. For more information please check the pdf.

Deadline for applications is October 9th

Working closely with scientists from different backgrounds and listening to their scientific views can deepen your understanding of other fields-and improve your own research".

Two postdoctoral researchers from the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab at CIC biomaGUNE, Malou Henriksen-Lacey a biologist with a background in immunology and Juan J. Giner-Casares a physical chemist with a background in nanomaterials, tell us about their working relationship in the latest issue of Science.

The two most recent issues (Volume 11, issues 8 and 9) of Small feature two publications with participation from our lab: "Au@pNIPAM SERRS Tags for Multiplex Immunophenotyping Cellular Receptors and Imaging Tumor Cells" and "Stabilization and Encapsulation of Gold Nanostars Mediated by Dithiols".

The work entitled "A General Approach Toward Polymer-Coated Plasmonic Nanostructures", carried out by the BioNanoPlasmonics Laboratory and presented by Ana Sánchez Iglesias in the "XXXV Biannual Congress from the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry, RSEQ 2015", has been awarded as best poster by the specialized group Nanomatmol.

Our recently published article "Controlled Living Nanowire Growth: Precise Control over the Morphology and Optical Properties of AgAuAg Bimetallic Nanowires" in Nano Letters has been highlighted at nanotechweb.org.

A Presentation of our recently published article "Residual CTAB Ligands as Mass Spectrometry Labels to Monitor Cellular Uptake of Au Nanorods" J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2015, 6, 2003-2008 can be viewed at ACS LiveSlides TM.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 7, issue 23) of Nanoscale illustrates our work on "Multifunctional self-assembled composite colloids and their application to SERS detection". View the article.

Professor Luis Manuel Liz-Marzán, head of the BioNanoPlasmonics Laboratory and Scientific Director of CIC biomaGUNE has been awarded the 2015 Jaime I Award in Basic Research.

The decision, announced by Professor Santiago Grisolia Executive President of the Rey Jaime I Awards Foundation, has been made public after the deliberations of the jury, which included 21 Nobel Laureates

Together with Luis Liz-Marzan, Josep Brugada (Clinical Medicine), Juan José Dolado (Economics), Josep Penuelas (Environmental Protection), Pablo Artal (New Technologies), Oscar Landeta (Entrepreneur) and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Social commitment) have been awarded in the 2015 edition.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 44, issue 21) of Dalton Trans. illustrates part of our Perspective on "Biogenic synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and prospects toward green chemistry". View the article.

In the frame of the International Year of Light, Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán together with Dr. Javier Aizpurua from the Material Physics Center (CSIC - UPV/EHU and DIPC) will discuss about new optical phenomena in nanomaterials and their application in various fields of our life. More details

Luis M. Liz-Marzán, has been elected correspondent member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain. The Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences is a public body for the study of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering, which is a part of the Institute of Spain. Press release

Our work on the use of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering to Analyze the Interactions of Protein Receptors with Bacterial Quorum Sensing Modulators ACS Nano 2015, in press, can be accessed for free.

Denis Rodriguez defended his Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Directed Self-Assembly of Janus Nanoparticles for SERS Applications" on April 30, 2015 under the co-supervision of Prof. Luis M. Liz Marzán (CIC biomaGUNE) and Prof. Jorge Pérez Juste (UVIGO) . CONGRATULATIONS!

From the 20th until the 23rd of April a series of lectures will be delivered by Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán in Leuven and Louvain-La-Neuve in the frame of the Francqui and Georges Smets Chairs.

Our work on the use of Glycans as stabilizers and targeting units for plasmonic nanoparticles in biofluids J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 3686-3692 can be accessed for free.

Presentations of our recently published article "Palladium Nanoparticle-loaded Cellulose Paper: a Highly Efficient, Robust and Recyclable Self- Assembled Composite Catalytic System" J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2014, 5, 73-79 can be viewed at ACS LiveSlides TM.

Our article on "Optical sensing of biological, chemical and ionic species through aggregation of plasmonic Nanoparticles" one of the 30 most accessed at J. Mat. Chem. C. in 2014

You can download here the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab report containing a summary of the activities conducted during 2014.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 6, issue 24) of ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. illustrates part of our communication "Reduced Graphene Oxide-Supported Gold Nanostars for Improved SERS Sensing and Drug Delivery". View the article.

Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán, has been interviewed by Eusaki+Innova on the occasion of receiving the 2014 Medal of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.

Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán, awarded with the 2014 Francqui Chair from Catholic University of Leuven.

Dr. Marek Grzelczak has been awarded with one of the grants to researchers (Ayudas a Investigadores, Innovadores y Creadores Culturales) from Fundación BBVA. In the case of researchers, the grants are aimed at young researchers with a high scientific production who are in an intermediate stage of his career.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 16, issue 40) of CrystEngComm illustrates our communication "A general approach toward polymer-coated plasmonic nanostructures". View the article.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 3, issue 4) of ChemistryOpen illustrates our paper "Gold Nanowire Forests for SERS Detection". View the article.

Highlighted in Materials Views our recent Small on pen-on-paper approach as a general SERS sensing platform. Read highlight here.

A frontispiece in the most recent issue (Volume 10, issue 15) of Small highlights our paper on Pen-on-Paper Approach Toward the Design of Universal Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrates.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 5, issue 14) of J. Phys. Chem. Lett. shows electron tomography rendering images at different angles of a colloidal cluster made of gold nanodumbbells coated with thiolated polystyrene chains. Aggregation is induced by addition of water to the stable dispersion of the particles in tetrahydrofuran, which leads to a significant increase of attractive hydrophobic interactions. Images courtesy of Prof. Sara Bals. View the article.

Highlighted in Science our recent Nano Letters in collaboration with the group of Prof. Sara Bals of University of Antwerp. This work reports on the Monitoring Galvanic Replacement Through Three-Dimensional Morphological and Chemical Mapping. Read highlight here.

Professor Luis Liz-Marzán, has received the 2014 Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) as a recognition of his scientific career. This is the highest award given annually by this organization. The ceremony will take place in November. More details (in Spanish).

Un estudio realizado en el laboratorio de BioNanoPlasmónica, y publicado en la revista científica Small, propone una novedosa técnica para sustituir los sustratos utilizados para la detección de sustancias químicas y facilitar el diagnóstico rápido, mediante nanopartículas de oro o plata en tintas convencionales. Más información.

The contribution of the Bionanoplasmonics Lab to the Basque Country special issue is a communication entitled Gold Spiky Nanodumbbells: Anisotropy in Gold Nanostars. This is a collaboration with CIC nanoGUNE and the Center of Physics of Materials and has been featured with a frontispiece.

The first issue of volume 31 of Particle & Particle Systems Characterization is dedicated to particle research in the Basque Country. Luis Liz-Marzán has served as guest editor for this issue, you can read here his editorial. All the articles in this issue are offered for free (open access).

Presentations of our recently published article Real-Time Dual-Channel Multiplex SERS Ultradetection J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2014, 5, 73-79 can be viewed at ACS LiveSlides TM.

Luis Liz-Marzán will be giving a plenary lecture at the 5th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul in Turkey from August 31 to September 4th 2014.

Luis Liz-Marzán joins the Editorial Board of Chemistry-A European Journal. Chemistry-A European Journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles on all areas of chemistry and related fields. It is published by Wiley-VCH on behalf of ChemPubSoc Europe.

You can download here the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab report containing a summary of the activities conducted during 2013.

Presentations of our recently published article "Au@Ag Nanoparticles: Halides Stabilize {100} Facets" (J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2013, 4 (13), pp 2209-2216) and "Plasmonic Mesoporous Composites as Molecular Sieves for SERS Detection" (J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2013, 4 (16), pp 2715-2720) can be viewed at ACS LiveSlides TM.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 25, issue 35) of Advanced Materials illustrates a communication by our group in collaboration with CICECO (University of Aveiro) entitled All-In-One Optical Heater-Thermometer Nanoplatform Operative From 300 to 2000 K Based on Er3+ Emission and Blackbody Radiation.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 1, issue 9) of Advanced Optical Materials illustrates a communication entitled Sensitive Detection of Silver Ions Based on Chiroplasmonic Assemblies of Nanoparticles, in which our group participated in collaboration with professors Nicholas Kotov (Univ. Michigan) and Chuanlai Xu (Jiannang University).

Our work published in PhysChemLett about plasmonic mesoporous composites as molecular sieves for SERS has been highlighted in C&EN. More information can be found here.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 1, issue 7) of Advanced Optical Materials illustrates a communication by our group entitled Self-Assembly of Au@Ag Nanorods Mediated by Gemini Surfactants for Highly Efficient SERS-Active Supercrystals.

The European Colloid and Interface Society (ECIS) has announced that the winner of the ECIS-Rhodia Prize 2013 is Luis Liz-Marzán, Group Leader of the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab. This Prize is granted every year to a European scientist for original scientific work of outstanding quality, described in one or several publications, patents or other documents made public in the previous five years. Hence, the ECIS-Rhodia Prize is for recent work within the field of colloid and interface science. The prize will be delivered during the next ECIS Conference, where Liz-Marzán will give the closing plenary lecture.

The 5th Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces (www.rici5.eu ) took place on July 26-28 at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian. Several awards were given to young researchers and two of them were given to CIC biomaGUNE students Leonardo Scarabelli (best oral presentation award) and Denis Rodriguez-Fernandez (best poster presentation award). Congratulations to both of them!

Our article on oleylamine synthesis of nanoparticles one of the most read from Chemistry of Materials between Jan-March 2013. More information can be found here.

The workshop will take place in CIC biomaGUNE (San Sebastián, Spain) the 29th and 30th of August 2013. It will focus on the use of metal nanoparticles as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probes and their potential application in a range of different biological studies. More information can be found here.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 25, issue 9) of Chemistry of Materials illustrates a review article by our group entitled Oleylamine in Nanoparticle Synthesis.

The front cover image from the most recent issue (Volume 29, issue 15) of Langmuir illustrates a Feature Article by our group entitled Colloidal Nanoplasmonics: From Building Blocks to Sensing Devices.

University of Liverpool-CIC biomaGUNE Joint PhD Program
The Nanochemistry Laboratory directed by Prof. Mathias Brust at the University of Liverpool together with, the BioNanoPlasmonics Laboratory, directed by Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán at CICbiomaGUNE, in San Sebastián (Spain) invite applications for a 4 year joint PhD position in plasmonic hybrid systems for biodetection. For additional information, please visit biomaGUNE's openings webpage.

The BNP Lab participates at the kick-off meeting of the SAVVY project funded under the EC FP7 framework. The meeting took place at London, UK the 14th and 15th of February 2013.

Luis Liz-Marzán joins the editorial advisory board of the ACS journal ACS Nano.

You can download here the 2012 BioNanoPlasmonics Lab report containing the achievements from September to December 2012.

The 2013 BioNanoPlasmonics Lab calendar containing highlights of 2012 work can be downloaded in two versions: 12 months

Starting on January 1st, Luis Liz-Marzán has been appointed as a member of Science Board of Reviewing Editors. The BoRE consists of more than 175 leading scientists, who are regularly requested to evaluate submitted manuscripts for appropriateness and recommend which manuscripts should be sent for in-depth peer review. A complete list of reviewing editors can be found here.

On the 1st of January 2013, Luis Liz-Marzán will take the directorship of CIC biomaGUNE. This report at Diario Vasco describes the research conducted at CIC biomaGUNE and in particular, at the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab directed also by Luis Liz-Marzán:

The article by A. Sánchez-Iglesias et al. on the exploitation of hydrophobic interactions to modulate the self-assembly of nanoparticles (ACS Nano, 2012, 6, 11059-11065), has been highlighted at In Nano, 2012, 6, 10420-10422 .

The BNP Lab participates at the kick-off meeting of the SACS project funded under the EC FP7 framework. The meeting took place at Leuven, Belgium the 18th and 19th of December 2012.

The frontispice image features our paper entitled: Organized Plasmonic Clusters with High Coordination Number and Extraordinary Enhancement in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

The BioNanoPlasmonics Lab has contributed two the new era of the J. Part. Part. Sys. Charac with two reviews and cover images and the entrance of Luis Liz-Marzán on the Executive Editorial Board:

The start of the BioNanoPlasmonics Lab and Luis Liz-Marzán at CIC biomaGUNE has raised a couple of reports at two of the major newspapers in Galicia:

September 1st was the official launch of the new BioNanoPlasmonics Lab at CIC biomaGUNE. The group will be led by Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzán, who has been appointed as Ikerbasque Research Professor and Senior Group Leader. The group starts with an initial team of seven researhers, who will work within the ERC Advanced Grant PLASMAQUO. Two additional postdocs are expected to start during early October. The group derives from the Colloid Chemistry Group at the University of Vigo and will continue activity mainly in the field of plasmonic nanomaterials, focusing on applications in the biomedical field.