The Development of Enantioselective Nanocolorimetry with High Sensitivity and Spatiotemporal Resolution

In this 2-year-project, a brand-new sensing protocol where enantioselective colorimetry with high sensitivity and spatial-temporal resolution will be delivered. Based on our previous track record, a revised nanostructure basing on merged double nanoparticles (MDNPs) will be used as the sensing probe. Simulation based on boundary element method (BEM) reveals that homo- and super-chiral field can be generated at the cusps of the overlapped surface. The associated discriminatory force can thereby attract or repel certain enantiomers depending on their handedness. The proposed structure will be fabricated by femtosecond laser induced plasmon heating and a home-built electro-opto-thermal algorithm provides the knowledge to select appropriate parameters such as polarization directions and pulse energies. In parallel to setting up the plasmonic trap, a spectrometer-free, color-coded detection scheme will be developed. By employing a high speed color CCD, the chromaticity variation as results of molecular conformation or nanoenvironment change can be continuously monitored in real time. The proposed sensing scheme is expected to outperform conventional spectrum based sensors in terms of instrumental simplicity, real-time capability, and additional spatial resolution which is very useful for multi-point detection.In Year 2, we will further extend the result to fabricate MDNPs on fiber ends, aiming at developing endoscopic sensing systems. It is expected that the results will produce substantial impact and benefit to the scientific society and industry, in particular to the field of pharmaceutics, drug/toxicant identification, food safety, and environment monitoring.