Amplification of chiroptical activity of chiral biomolecules by surface plasmons

Nano Lett. 2013 Mar 13;13(3):1203-9. doi: 10.1021/nl304638a. Epub 2013 Feb 19.

Abstract

Chiral molecules are shown to induce circular dichroism (CD) at surface plasmon resonances of gold nanostructures when in proximity to the metal surface without direct bonding to the metal. By changing the molecule-Au separation, we were able to learn about the mechanism of plasmonic CD induction for such nanostructures. It was found that even two monolayers of chiral molecules can induce observable plasmonic CD, while without the presence of the plasmonic nanostructures their own CD signal is unmeasurable. Hence, plasmonic arrays could offer a route to enhanced sensitivity for chirality detection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Circular Dichroism
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance*