Optically Probing the Chirality of Single Plasmonic Nanostructures and of Single Molecules: Potential and Obstacles

Bovine-Hemoglobin Detection by Single-Particle Plasmon-Coupled Circular Dichroism

Plasmon-coupled circular dichroism enables chiral molecule detection by inducing circular dichroism at the plasmon resonance through interactions with a plasmonic sensor. Coupled nanoparticles offer potentially higher sensitivities due to stronger plasmonic fields at the junctions. However, ensemble-level sensitivity is limited by signal averaging, and the structural chirality of the sensor itself can obscure the molecular response. To overcome these issues, we combine single-particle dark-field scattering with electron microscopy. Individual gold nanosphere dimers, selected to avoid interference from structural chirality, yield unambiguous plasmon-coupled circular dichroism for hemoglobin as an analyte, while monomers give no detectable signal. We explain these results based on their difference in refractive index sensitivities with respect to hemoglobin's circular birefringence, as supported by electrodynamic simulations. This study sheds new light on the mechanism of plasmon-coupled circular dichroism by isolating the response of individual nanostructures and thereby avoiding ensemble averaging over a heterogeneous mixture of nanostructure geometries.

Plasmonic nanoarchitectured systems for biomedical application

In this paper we discuss the latest developments in colloidal plasmonics, a field with over a century of history, applied to the biomedical sector. Emphasis is placed on the nanoarchitectonic nature of plasmonic systems that can be used for sensing, drug delivery and manipulation of biomolecules. For instance, quantum effects linked to plasmonic phenomena are being used to enhance monitoring of chiral particles and their interaction with light, which is essential for the pharmaceutical industry in reaching the required enantiopurity in some drugs. In diagnostics, radiofrequency waves can excite surface plasmon resonance through amplified photoacoustic effects, thus permitting thermo-acoustic imaging. An example of enhanced therapy was introduced in carefully designed nanoarchitectures where a multi-branched gold nanooctopus was surrounded by a mesoporous polydopamine and loaded with ribonucleoproteins for the target delivery into tumor cells. Moreover, the longstanding challenge of heating due to Ohmic losses, which has hindered the use of plasmonic tweezers for manipulating biologically relevant analytes, is now being exploited for enhanced trapping, manipulation, and transport of cells and other biological particles. The combination of magnetic materials and plasmonic colloids in the realms of magnetoplasmonics can also be explored in sensing and enhanced drug delivery, which further exemplifies the versatility of nanoarchitectonics.

Harnessing the Power of Plasmonics for in Vitro and in Vivo Biosensing

Plasmonic nanostructures exhibit localized surface plasmon resonances due to collective oscillation of conducting electrons that can be tuned by modulating the nanostructure size, shape, material composition, and local dielectric environment. The strong field confinement and enhancement provided by plasmonic nanostructures have been exploited over the years to enhance the sensitivity for analyte detection down to the single-molecule level, rendering these devices as potentially outstanding biosensors. Here, we summarize methods to detect biological analytes in vitro and in living cells, with a focus on plasmon-enhanced fluorescence, Raman scattering, infrared absorption, circular dichroism, and refractive index sensing. Given the tremendous advances in the field, we concentrate on a few recent examples toward biosensing under highly challenging detection conditions, including clinically relevant biomarkers in body fluids and nascent applications in living cells and in vivo. These emerging platforms serve as inspiration for exploring future directions of nanoplasmonics that can be further harnessed to advance real-world biosensing applications.

Intrinsic Chirality Modulation and Biosensing Application of Helical Gold Nanorods by Anisotropic Etching

The investigation of plasmonic chirality is a profound and intriguing topic, and the distinctive morphology of intrinsically chiral nanoparticles has prompted significant interest in the structure-activity relationship between particle morphology and chirality. In this work, the anisotropic etching of chiral helical gold nanorods (HGNRs) by a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-HAuCl4 complex was observed with an interesting bidirectional variation of intrinsic chirality that initially enhanced and subsequently weakened, which was related with the diversity in CTAB distribution. In addition, an ultrasensitive and convenient sensing platform for acetylcholinesterase was developed based on the circular dichroism signal recovery of HGNRs caused by the dual inhibition of HGNR etching. The distinctive etching process and mechanism of chiral nanoparticles offer new insights into understanding the structural features and biochemical applications of the plasmonic intrinsic chirality, which could be applied to the acquisition of chiral nanoparticles and sensitive detection platform based on chiral signal changes.

Wavelength-tunable infrared metasurfaces with chiral bound states in the continuum

In recent years, research on chiral bound states in the continuum (BIC) has surged, leading to the development of various chiral metasurfaces with narrow bandwidths by breaking of in-plane and out-of-plane symmetries. However, the ability to dynamically tune the working band remains relatively unexplored, which is valuable for chiral sensing applications. Optical phase-change materials, with tunable dielectric constants and switchable properties during phase transition, offer the potential for dynamic control of optical metasurfaces. This work demonstrates a wavelength-tunable infrared chiral metasurface by combining the phase-change material GST with chiral BIC structures. By varying the longitudinal tilt angle of the nanostructure, an infrared chiral metasurface with an extremely narrow bandwidth of chiral resonance and a CD value of over 0.8 is designed. The phase-change properties of GST enable wavelength-tunable chiral resonance without altering the structural parameters, and the influence of key structural parameters of the metasurface on the chiral resonance wavelength and CD value is analyzed. The proposed chiral BIC metasurface with phase-change materials shows promising application prospects in filter devices, chiral thermal switches, infrared imaging, and tunable chiral photonics.

Achiral and chiral ligands synergistically harness chiral self-assembly of inorganics

Chiral structures and functions are essential natural components in biominerals and biological crystals. Chiral molecules direct inorganics through chiral growth of facets or screw dislocation of crystal clusters. As chirality promoters, they initiate an asymmetric hierarchical self-assembly in a quasi-thermodynamic steady state. However, achieving chiral assembly requires a delicate balance between intricate interactions. This complexity causes the roles of achiral-chiral and inorganic components in crystallization to remain ambiguous. Here, we elucidate a definitive mechanism using an achiral-chiral ligand strategy to assemble inorganics into hierarchical, self-organized superstructures. Achiral ligands cluster inorganic building blocks, while chiral ligands impart chiral rotation. Achiral and chiral ligands can flexibly modulate the chirality of superstructures by fully using their competition in coordination chemistry. This dual-ligand strategy offers a versatile framework for engineering chiroptical nanomaterials tailored to optical devices and metamaterials with optical activities across a broad wavelength range, with applications in imaging, detection, catalysis, and sensing.

Beyond the Surface: Interconnection of Viscosity, Crystal Growth, and Diffusion in Ge25Se75 Glass-Former

The knowledge of viscosity behavior, crystal growth phenomenon, and diffusion is important in producing, processing, and practical applications of amorphous solids prepared in different forms (bulk glasses and thin films). This work uses microscopy to study volume crystal growth in Ge25Se75 bulk glasses and thermally evaporated thin films. The collected growth data measured over a wide temperature range show a significant increase in crystal growth rates in thin films. The crystal growth is analyzed using near-surface viscosities obtained in bulks and thin films using nanoindentation and melt viscosities measured by a pressure-assisted melt filling technique. The crystal growth analysis provides information on the size of the structural units incorporated into the growing crystals, essential for estimating the diffusion coefficients and explaining the difference in crystal growth rates in bulk and thin films. The crystal growth analysis also reveals the decoupling between diffusion and viscous flow described by the Stokes-Einstein-Eyring relation. Moreover, to the authors' best knowledge, the manuscript provides the first evaluation estimation of the effective self-diffusion coefficient directly from growth data in chalcogenide glass-formers. The present data show a similar relation between diffusion coefficients (D) and crystal growth rates (u): u ≈ D0.87, which is found in several molecular glasses.

Enhanced Tunability of Dual-Band Chiral Metasurface in the Mid-Infrared Range via Slotted Nanocircuit Design

Multi-band circular dichroism (CD) response and tunability on the chiral metasurface are crucial for this device's applications in sensing and detection. This work proposes a dual-band CD Au-CaF2-Au dimer elliptical metasurface absorber, where chiroptical sensing is realized by breaking the geometric symmetry between two ellipses. The proposed metasurface can achieve high CD values of 0.8 and -0.74 for the dual-band within the 3-5 μm region, and the CD values can be manipulated by independently adjusting the geometric parameters of the metasurface. Furthermore, a slotted nanocircuit is introduced onto the metasurface to enhance its tunability by manipulating the geometry parameter in the design process, and the related mechanism is explained using an equivalent circuit model. The simulation of the sensing model revealed that the slotted nanocircuit enhances the sensor's tunability and significantly improves its bandwidth and sensitivity, achieving peak enhancements at approximately 753 nm and 1311 nm/RIU, respectively. Due to the strong dual-band positive (and negative) responses of the CD values, flexible wavelength tunability, and nonlinear sensitivity enhancement, this design provides a new approach for the development and application of mid-infrared chiroptical devices.

Single-Particle Photothermal Circular Dichroism and Photothermal Magnetic Circular Dichroism Microscopy

Recent advances in single-particle photothermal circular dichroism (PT CD) and photothermal magnetic circular dichroism (PT MCD) microscopy have shown strong promise for diverse applications in chirality and magnetism. Photothermal circular dichroism microscopy measures direct differential absorption of left- and right-circularly polarized light by a chiral nanoobject and thus can measure a pure circular dichroism signal, which is free from the contribution of circular birefringence and linear dichroism. Photothermal magnetic circular dichroism, which is based on the polar magneto-optical Kerr effect, can probe the magnetic properties of a single nanoparticle (of sizes down to 20 nm) optically. Single-particle measurements enable studies of the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of magnetism at the nanoscale. Both PT CD and PT MCD have already found applications in chiral plasmonics and magnetic nanomaterials. Most importantly, the advent of these microscopic techniques opens possibilities for many novel applications in biology and nanomaterial science.

Unraveling the Chirality Transfer from Circularly Polarized Light to Single Plasmonic Nanoparticles

Due to their broken symmetry, chiral plasmonic nanostructures have unique optical properties and numerous applications. However, there is still a lack of comprehension regarding how chirality transfer occurs between circularly polarized light (CPL) and these structures. Here, we thoroughly investigate the plasmon-assisted growth of chiral nanoparticles from achiral Au nanocubes (AuNCs) via CPL without the involvement of any chiral molecule stimulators. We identify the structural chirality of our synthesized chiral plasmonic nanostructures using circular differential scattering (CDS) spectroscopy, which is correlated with scanning electron microscopy imaging at both the single-particle and ensemble levels. Theoretical simulations, including hot-electron surface maps, reveal that the plasmon-induced chirality transfer is mediated by the asymmetric distribution of hot electrons on achiral AuNCs under CPL excitation. Furthermore, we shed light on how this plasmon-induced chirality transfer can also be utilized for chiral growth in bimetallic systems, such as Ag or Pd on AuNCs. The results presented here uncover fundamental aspects of chiral light-matter interaction and have implications for the future design and optimization of chiral sensors and chiral catalysis, among others.

Mapping electric field components of superchiral field with photo-induced force

Circular dichroism (CD) of materials, difference in absorbance of left- and right-circularly polarized light, is a standard measure of chirality. Detection of the chirality for individual molecules is a frontier in analytical chemistry and optical science. The usage of a superchiral electromagnetic field near metallic structure is one promising way because it boosts the molecular far-field CD signal. However, it is still elusive as to how such a field actually interacts with the molecules. The cause is that the distribution of the electric field vector is unclear in the vicinity of the metal surface. In particular, it is difficult to directly measure the localized field, e.g., using aperture-type scanning near-field optical microscope. Here, we calculate the three-dimensional (3D) electric field vector, including the longitudinal field, and reveal the whole figure of the near-field CD on a two-dimensional (2D) plane just above the metal surface. Moreover, we propose a method to measure the near-field CD of the whole superchiral field by photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM), where the optical force distribution is mapped in a scanning 2D plane. We numerically demonstrate that, although the presence of the metallic probe tip affects the 3D electric field distribution, the PiFM is sufficiently capable to evaluate the superchiral field. Unveiling the whole figure of near-field is significantly beneficial in obtaining rich information of single molecules with multiple orientations and in analyzing the boosted far-field CD signals.

Geometric Control and Optical Properties of Intrinsically Chiral Plasmonic Nanomaterials

Intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanomaterials exhibit intriguing geometry-dependent chiroptical properties, which is due to the combination of plasmonic features with geometric chirality. Thus, chiral plasmonic nanomaterials have become promising candidates for applications in biosensing, asymmetric catalysis, biomedicine, photonics, etc. Recent advances in geometric control and optical tuning of intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanomaterials have further opened up a unique opportunity for their widespread applications in many emerging technological areas. Here, the recent developments in the geometric control of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials are reviewed with special attention given to the quantitative understanding of the chiroptical structure-property relationship. Several important optical spectroscopic tools for characterizing the optical chirality of plasmonic nanomaterials at both ensemble and single-particle levels are also discussed. Three emerging applications of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials, including enantioselective sensing, enantioselective catalysis, and biomedicine, are further highlighted. It is envisioned that these advanced studies in chiral plasmonic nanomaterials will pave the way toward the rational design of chiral nanomaterials with desired optical properties for diverse emerging technological applications.

Wavelength-tunable infrared chiral metasurfaces with phase-change materials

Optical phase-change materials exhibit tunable permittivity and switching properties during phase transition, which offers the possibility of dynamic control of optical devices. Here, a wavelength-tunable infrared chiral metasurface integrated with phase-change material GST-225 is demonstrated with the designed unit cell of parallelogram-shaped resonator. By varying the baking time at a temperature above the phase transition temperature of GST-225, the resonance wavelength of the chiral metasurface is tuned in the wavelength range of 2.33 µm to 2.58 µm, while the circular dichroism in absorption is maintained around 0.44. The chiroptical response of the designed metasurface is revealed by analyzing the electromagnetic field and displacement current distributions under left- and right-handed circularly polarized (LCP and RCP) light illumination. Moreover, the photothermal effect is simulated to investigate the large temperature difference in the chiral metasurface under LCP and RCP illumination, which allows for the possibility of circular polarization-controlled phase transition. The presented chiral metasurfaces with phase-change materials offer the potential to facilitate promising applications in the infrared regime, such as chiral thermal switching, infrared imaging, and tunable chiral photonics.