Gold NPs and the color changes of these nanoparticles (NPs). (a) Gold nanorods, color varies with aspect ratio; (b) silica–gold core–shell NPs, color varies with shell thickness; (c) gold nanocages, color varies with galvanic displacement by gold. (Reprinted with permission from Dreaden, Alkilany, Huang, Murphy, and El-Sayed (2012). Copyright 2012 Royal Society of Chemistry (Chemical Society Reviews))