Parallel mapping of optical near-field interactions by molecular motor-driven quantum dots
Source abstract
Abstract
In the vicinity of metallic nanostructures, absorption and emission rates of optical emitters can be modulated by several orders of magnitude1,2. Control of such near-field light-matter interaction is essential for applications in biosensing3, light harvesting4 and quantum communication5,6 and requires precise mapping of optical near-field interactions, for which single-emitter probes are promising candidates7-11. However, currently available techniques are limited in terms of throughput, resolution and/or non-invasiveness. Here, we present an approach for the parallel mapping of optical near-field interactions with a resolution of <5 nm using surface-bound motor proteins to transport microtubules carrying single emitters (quantum dots). The deterministic motion of the quantum dots allows for the interpolation of their tracked positions, resulting in an increased spatial resolution and a suppression of localization artefacts. We apply this method to map the near-field distribution of nanoslits engraved into gold layers and find an excellent agreement with finite-difference time-domain simulations. Our technique can be readily applied to a variety of surfaces for scalable, nanometre-resolved and artefact-free near-field mapping using conventional wide-field microscopes.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Near-Field Optical Microscopy · Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research · Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (34)
Show source-provided references
1. Kinkhabwala, A. et al. Large single-molecule fluorescence enhancements produced by a bowtie nanoantenna. Nat. Photon. 3, 654–657 (2009).10.1038/nphoton.2009.187 ↗
2. Hoang, T. B. et al. Ultrafast spontaneous emission source using plasmonic nanoantennas. Nat. Commun. 6, 7788 (2015).10.1038/ncomms8788 ↗
3. Fabrizio, E. D. et al. Roadmap on biosensing and photonics with advanced nano-optical methods. J. Opt. 18, 063003 (2016).10.1088/2040-8978/18/6/063003 ↗
4. Knight, M. W., Sobhani, H., Nordlander, P. & Halas, N. J. Photodetection with active optical antennas. Science 332, 702–704 (2011).10.1126/science.1203056 ↗
5. Beugnon, J. et al. Quantum interference between two single photons emitted by independently trapped atoms. Nature 440, 779–782 (2006).10.1038/nature04628 ↗
6. Reiserer, A., Kalb, N., Rempe, G. & Ritter, S. A quantum gate between a flying optical photon and a single trapped atom. Nature 508, 237–240 (2014).10.1038/nature13177 ↗
7. Farahani, J. N., Pohl, D. W., Eisler, H.-J. & Hecht, B. Single quantum dot coupled to a scanning optical antenna: a tunable superemitter. Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 017402 (2005).10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.017402 ↗
8. Anger, P., Bharadwaj, P. & Novotny, L. Enhancement and quenching of single-molecule fluorescence. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 113002 (2006).10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.113002 ↗
9. Kühn, S., Håkanson, U., Rogobete, L. & Sandoghdar, V. Enhancement of single-molecule fluorescence using a gold nanoparticle as an optical nanoantenna. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 017402 (2006).10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.017402 ↗
10. Cang, H. et al. Probing the electromagnetic field of a 15-nanometre hotspot by single molecule imaging. Nature 469, 385–388 (2011).10.1038/nature09698 ↗
11. Ropp, C. et al. Nanoscale imaging and spontaneous emission control with a single nano-positioned quantum dot. Nat. Commun. 4, 1447 (2013).10.1038/ncomms2477 ↗
12. Wu, D., Liu, Z., Sun, C. & Zhang, X. Super-resolution imaging by random adsorbed molecule probes. Nano Lett. 8, 1159–1162 (2008).10.1021/nl0733280 ↗
13. Stranahan, S. M. & Willets, K. A. Super-resolution optical imaging of single-molecule SERS hot spots. Nano Lett. 10, 3777–3784 (2010).10.1021/nl102559d ↗
14. Willets, K. A. Super-resolution imaging of SERS hot spots. Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 3854–3864 (2014).10.1039/C3CS60334B ↗
15. Wertz, E., Isaacoff, B. P., Flynn, J. D. & Biteen, J. S. Single-molecule super-resolution microscopy reveals how light couples to a plasmonic nanoantenna on the nanometer scale. Nano Lett. 15, 2662–2670 (2015).10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00319 ↗
16. Raab, M., Vietz, C., Stefani, F. D., Acuna, G. P. & Tinnefeld, P. Shifting molecular localization by plasmonic coupling in a single-molecule mirage. Nat. Commun. 8, 13966 (2017).10.1038/ncomms13966 ↗
17. Fu, B., Isaacoff, B. P. & Biteen, J. S. Super-resolving the actual position of single fluorescent molecules coupled to a plasmonic nanoantenna. ACS Nano 11, 8978–8987 (2017).10.1021/acsnano.7b03420 ↗
18. Michaelis, J., Hettich, C., Mlynek, J. & Sandoghdar, V. Optical microscopy using a single-molecule light source. Nature 405, 325–328 (2000).10.1038/35012545 ↗
19. Kühn, S., Hettich, C., Schmitt, C., Poizat, J.-P. & Sandoghdar, V. Diamond colour centres as a nanoscopic light source for scanning near-field optical microscopy. J. Microsc. 202, 2–6 (2001).10.1046/j.1365-2818.2001.00829.x ↗
20. Nitzsche, B. et al. in Methods in Cell Biology Vol. 95 (eds. Wilson, L. & Correia, J. J.) Ch. 14, 247–271 (Academic Press, Cambridge, 2010).10.1016/S0091-679X(10)95014-0 ↗
21. Hess, H., Clemmens, J., Howard, J. & Vogel, V. Surface imaging by self-propelled nanoscale probes. Nano Lett. 2, 113–116 (2002).10.1021/nl015647b ↗
22. Ruhnow, F., Zwicker, D. & Diez, S. Tracking single particles and elongated filaments with nanometer precision. Biophys. J. 100, 2820–2828 (2011).10.1016/j.bpj.2011.04.023 ↗
23. Palacci, H. et al. Velocity fluctuations in kinesin-1 gliding motility assays originate in motor attachment geometry variations. Langmuir 32, 7943–7950 (2016).10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b02369 ↗
24. Anikeyev, V., Temnov, V. V., Woggon, U., Devaux, E. & Ebbesen, T. W. Propagation oscillations in the near-field response of traveling surface waves launched by metallic nanoapertures. Appl. Phys. B 93, 171–176 (2008).10.1007/s00340-008-3175-3 ↗
25. Nitzsche, B., Ruhnow, F. & Diez, S. Quantum-dot-assisted characterization of microtubule rotations during cargo transport. Nat. Nanotech. 3, 552–556 (2008).10.1038/nnano.2008.216 ↗
26. Kerssemakers, J., Howard, J., Hess, H. & Diez, S. The distance that kinesin-1 holds its cargo from the microtubule surface measured by fluorescence interference contrast microscopy. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 15812–15817 (2006).10.1073/pnas.0510400103 ↗
27. Acuna, G. P. et al. Fluorescence enhancement at docking sites of DNA-directed self-assembled nanoantennas. Science 338, 506–510 (2012).10.1126/science.1228638 ↗
28. Gür, F. N., Schwarz, F. W., Ye, J., Diez, S. & Schmidt, T. L. Toward self-assembled plasmonic devices: high-yield arrangement of gold nanoparticles on DNA origami templates. ACS Nano 10, 5374–5382 (2016).10.1021/acsnano.6b01537 ↗
29. van den Heuvel, M. G. L., Butcher, C. T., Smeets, R. M. M., Diez, S. & Dekker, C. High rectifying efficiencies of microtubule motility on kinesin-coated gold nanostructures. Nano Lett. 5, 1117–1122 (2005).10.1021/nl0506554 ↗
30. Sun, Y., McKenna, J. D., Murray, J. M., Ostap, E. M. & Goldman, Y. E. Parallax: high accuracy three-dimensional single molecule tracking using split images. Nano Lett. 9, 2676–2682 (2009).10.1021/nl901129j ↗
31. Castoldi, M. & Popov, A. V. Purification of brain tubulin through two cycles of polymerization–depolymerization in a high-molarity buffer. Protein Expr. Purif. 32, 83–88 (2003).10.1016/S1046-5928(03)00218-3 ↗
32. Korten, T., Chaudhuri, S., Tavkin, E., Braun, M. & Diez, S. Kinesin-1 expressed in insect cells improves microtubule in vitro gliding performance, long-term stability and guiding efficiency in nanostructures. IEEE Trans. NanoBioscience 15, 62–69 (2016).10.1109/TNB.2016.2520832 ↗
33. Kern, W. The evolution of silicon wafer cleaning technology. J. Electrochem. Soc. 137, 1887–1892 (1990).10.1149/1.2086825 ↗
34. Ovesný, M., Křížek, P., Borkovec, J., Švindrych, Z. & Hagen, G. M. ThunderSTORM: a comprehensive ImageJ plug-in for PALM and STORM data analysis and super-resolution imaging. Bioinformatics 30, 2389–2390 (2014).10.1093/bioinformatics/btu202 ↗