Chowdhury Mustafa H, Ray Krishanu, Gray Stephen K, Pond James, Lakowicz Joseph R
Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng. 2010 Feb;7577:75770O. doi: 10.1117/12.841449.
We consider the possibility of using aluminum nanostructures for enhancing the intrinsic emission of biomolecules. We used the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to calculate the effects of aluminum nanoparticles on nearby fluorophores that emit in the ultra-violet (UV). We find that the radiated power of UV fluorophores is significantly increased when they are in close proximity to aluminum nanostructures. We show that there will be increased localized excitation near aluminum particles at wavelengths used to excite intrinsic biomolecule emission. We also examine the effect of excited-state fluorophores on the near-field around the nanoparticles. Finally we present experimental evidence showing that a thin film of amino acids and nucleotides display enhanced emission when in close proximity to aluminum nanostructured surfaces. Our results suggest that biomolecules can be detected and identified using aluminum nanostructures that enhance their intrinsic emission. We hope this study will ignite interest in the broader scientific community to take advantage of the plasmonic properties of aluminum and the potential benefits of its interaction with biomolecules to generate momentum towards implementing fluorescence-based bioassays using their intrinsic emission.
我们考虑了使用铝纳米结构来增强生物分子固有发射的可能性。我们使用时域有限差分（FDTD）方法来计算铝纳米颗粒对附近在紫外（UV）波段发射的荧光团的影响。我们发现，当紫外荧光团靠近铝纳米结构时，其辐射功率会显著增加。我们表明，在用于激发生物分子固有发射的波长下，铝颗粒附近会出现增强的局域激发。我们还研究了激发态荧光团对纳米颗粒周围近场的影响。最后，我们给出了实验证据，表明氨基酸和核苷酸薄膜在靠近铝纳米结构表面时会显示出增强的发射。我们的结果表明，可以使用增强生物分子固有发射的铝纳米结构来检测和识别生物分子。我们希望这项研究能激发更广泛科学界的兴趣，利用铝的等离子体特性及其与生物分子相互作用的潜在益处，推动利用生物分子固有发射来实现基于荧光的生物测定。
