High sensitivity molecule detection by plasmonic nanoantennas with selective binding at electromagnetic hotspots.

We report a highly sensitive biomolecule detection by plasmonic nanoantenna arrays with selective binding at the optical hotspots. The plasmonic nanoantennas consist of two separated Au nanorods with a thin Ti disk placed in between. By using selective surface modification chemistry, controlled binding occurs only in the gaps between the plasmonic nanoantennas, which ensures a high detection sensitivity. Both optical characterization using a dark field microscope and the FDTD simulation show that after the streptavidin binding, the signal increases with decreasing gap size. Compared to a single nanorod, the signal obtained per bound molecule in the nanoantennas increases by a factor of six, which is promising with respect to the future detection of single molecules.