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Thermo-optoplasmonic single-molecule sensing on optical microcavities

Thermo-optoplasmonic single-molecule sensing on optical microcavities
Thermo-optoplasmonic single-molecule sensing on optical microcavities

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators are powerful instruments for single-molecule sensing in biological and biochemical investigations. WGM sensors leveraged by plasmonic nanostructures, known as optoplasmonic sensors, provide sensitivity down to single atomic ions. In this article, we describe that the response of optoplasmonic sensors upon the attachment of single protein molecules strongly depends on the intensity of WGM. At low intensity, protein binding causes red shifts of WGM resonance wavelengths, known as the reactive sensing mechanism. By contrast, blue shifts are obtained at high intensities, which we explain as thermo-optoplasmonic (TOP) sensing, where molecules transform absorbed WGM radiation into heat. To support our conclusions, we experimentally investigated seven molecules and complexes; we observed blue shifts for dye molecules, amino acids, and anomalous absorption of enzymes in the near-infrared spectral region. As an example of an application, we propose a physical model of TOP sensing that can be used for the development of single-molecule absorption spectrometers.

absorption, microresonator, plasmon, protein, sensor, tryptophan
1936-0851
17534-17546
Toropov, Nikita A.
29c05925-314b-472c-918e-2ad69c08755f
Houghton, Matthew C.
da21c83b-f815-46c2-9bcd-070edcf7e1db
Yu, Deshui
c265a59d-c75e-441c-a175-a76c709b4ef2
Vollmer, Frank
2b6e4a03-2ef7-4073-b60a-040ecc50c8e0
Toropov, Nikita A.
29c05925-314b-472c-918e-2ad69c08755f
Houghton, Matthew C.
da21c83b-f815-46c2-9bcd-070edcf7e1db
Yu, Deshui
c265a59d-c75e-441c-a175-a76c709b4ef2
Vollmer, Frank
2b6e4a03-2ef7-4073-b60a-040ecc50c8e0

Toropov, Nikita A., Houghton, Matthew C., Yu, Deshui and Vollmer, Frank (2024) Thermo-optoplasmonic single-molecule sensing on optical microcavities. ACS Nano, 18 (27), 17534-17546. (doi:10.1021/acsnano.4c00877).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators are powerful instruments for single-molecule sensing in biological and biochemical investigations. WGM sensors leveraged by plasmonic nanostructures, known as optoplasmonic sensors, provide sensitivity down to single atomic ions. In this article, we describe that the response of optoplasmonic sensors upon the attachment of single protein molecules strongly depends on the intensity of WGM. At low intensity, protein binding causes red shifts of WGM resonance wavelengths, known as the reactive sensing mechanism. By contrast, blue shifts are obtained at high intensities, which we explain as thermo-optoplasmonic (TOP) sensing, where molecules transform absorbed WGM radiation into heat. To support our conclusions, we experimentally investigated seven molecules and complexes; we observed blue shifts for dye molecules, amino acids, and anomalous absorption of enzymes in the near-infrared spectral region. As an example of an application, we propose a physical model of TOP sensing that can be used for the development of single-molecule absorption spectrometers.

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Accepted/In Press date: 14 June 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 June 2024
Published date: 9 July 2024
Keywords: absorption, microresonator, plasmon, protein, sensor, tryptophan

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 499313
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/499313
ISSN: 1936-0851
PURE UUID: 87e6e439-851f-4a78-b658-0b10c63aa58d
ORCID for Nikita A. Toropov: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0297-3661

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Date deposited: 14 Mar 2025 17:59
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:38

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Contributors

Author: Nikita A. Toropov ORCID iD
Author: Matthew C. Houghton
Author: Deshui Yu
Author: Frank Vollmer

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