Abstract

Nanoplasmonics Enhanced Molecular and Cellular Imaging: “Chip” Solutions to Expensive Bioimaging Problems

Logan Liu, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

There were significant research efforts in recent years to develop new molecular sensing and cellular imaging instrumentations with largely improved sensitivity, however the augmented performance usually requires the addition of expensive specialized equipment. Our research efforts aim at inventing new bioimaging solutions from a very different angle by engineering low-cost high-performance nanoplasmonic chips to enhance conventional molecular and cell imaging sensitivity for more than 100 times at the cost less than 1/100 of the expensive equipment solutions. In my talk, I will first present our work on developing the world’s first colorimetric plasmon resonance sensor chip with a world record sensitivity. The design inspiration of our invention comes from a 1600-year-old Roman cup currently exhibited at the British Museum, and thus we named the device nano Lycurgus cup array (nanoLCA). For the first time, surface plasmon resonance molecular sensing is transformed to a nearly “equipment free” technology requiring only naked eyes or cell phone cameras. Label-free colorimetric DNA and protein sensing and colorimetric microfluidics applications on nanoLCA will be demonstrated. Secondly I will present our nanoplasmon coupled optical resonance excitation (nanoplasmon CORE) device for ultrasensitive 3D fluorescence cell confocal imaging. This is a portable and disposable nanoplasmonic device being used just like a glass sample slide or petri dish but by which 3D imaging sensitivity and photostability of existing laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging systems can be improved for 2-3 orders of magnitude. The presented nanoplasmon CORE “chip” offers a potential opportunity for molecular and cell biologists, without any equipment change, to capture low concentration molecular events in living cells, observe very early stage protein expressions soon after genetic transfection, and discover new basic mechanisms in cytoskeletal dynamics, cell adhesion and