Active Hybrid Hydrogel-Metallic Nanostructures for Plasmonic Biosensor Applications

Plasmonic nanostructures offer attractive means for improving response in optical spectroscopy techniques that are employed for detection of ligand–analyte interactions. Metallic nanostructures have been exploited for strong... [ view full abstract ]

Plasmonic nanostructures offer attractive means for improving response in optical spectroscopy techniques that are employed for detection of ligand–analyte interactions. Metallic nanostructures have been exploited for strong signal amplification in areas including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA), and surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (SPFS).

The paper will present a novel method for preparing hybrid nanostructures composed of metallic nanoparticles and responsive hydrogel materials¹ by using template stripping² and UV laser interference lithography³. These structures are prepared over cm² area and exhibit tailored and actively tunable optical properties. The implementation of prepared responsive structures for sensitive monitoring of biomolecular binding events by SPFS will be demonstrated.

[1] Mateescu, A.; Wang, Y.; Dostalek, J.; Jonas, U. Thin hydrogel films for optical biosensor applications. Membranes 2012, 2 (1), 40-69.

[2] Sharma, N.; Keshmiri H.; Zhou X.; T.I. Wong, Petri, C.; Jonas, U.; , B. Liedberg, J. Dostalek, Tunable plasmonic nanohole arrays actuated by responsive hydrogel cushion, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016, 120, 561-56

[3] Sharma, N.; Petri, C.; Jonas, U.; Dostalek, J. Reversibly tunable plasmonic bandgap by responsive hydrogel grating. Optics Express 2016, 24 (3), 2457.