OP: Super-resolution imaging of plasmon-molecule interactions

OP：等离子体分子相互作用的超分辨率成像

• 批准号: 1807269
• 负责人: Katherine Willets
• 金额: $ 43.94万
• 依托单位: Temple University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2023-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1807269&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OP; Super; resolution; imaging; plasmon

Optical microscopes, such as those found in almost every high school to look at cells, have an inherent limit to their spatial resolution. They cannot resolve two objects that are closer to each other than the wavelength of light, which for visible colors is about 500 nm, or about 1/100 the diameter of a human hair. Recently super-resolution microscopes have been developed that can resolve individual molecules that are only 10 nm apart. Super-resolution microscopy has had tremendous success when imaging fluorescent dyes near other molecules, such as proteins, but it has trouble when the molecule is located near a metal nanostructure. The problem arises when the molecule interacts with the loosely held electrons in the metal, which blurs its location. With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Willets at Temple University is studying the interaction of fluorescent molecules with metal nanoparticles. Professor Willets and her students are developing protocols that can better pinpoint the location of the fluorescent molecule. The project could pave the way to producing higher fidelity super-resolution images, which may help to advance nanotechnologies for biosensing, nanomedicine, and solar energy conversion. The work also provides training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, furthering the development of the Nation's scientific workforce. In addition, the Willets lab is actively engaged with the 9th grade science classes at Freire Charter School in downtown Philadelphia, helping the students to foster an appreciation for scientific exploration and discovery.Working alongside her students, Professor Willets is functionalizing gold nanorods and nanospheres at specific sites with fluorescently-labeled DNA. A combination of super-resolution imaging and polarization-resolved microscopy is then used to track how the position and orientation of the fluorescent molecules impacts the localization precision of the fluorescent molecule. In super-resolution imaging, single fluorescent molecules are localized by fitting their diffraction-limited emission to a model function, such as a two-dimensional Gaussian, to localize their spatial position with better than 10 nm precision. However, coupling between the fluorescent emitter and the plasmon modes of the nanostructure impacts the localization accuracy, resulting in the calculated position of the fluorescent molecule being shifted from its true position. Theoretical modeling provides insight into how the position and orientation of a single molecule relative to the plasmonic nanostructure affects the localization error. By creating well-defined hybrid organic-plasmonic nanoparticles, the team is developing new analysis tools to extract information hidden in the fluorescence images to improve agreement between the super-resolved images and the actual nanostructure properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

光学显微镜，例如几乎每所高中都可以看细胞的光学显微镜，它们对其空间分辨率具有固有的限制。他们无法解析两个比光波长更接近彼此的物体，而光的波长对于可见的颜色约为500 nm，或者大约是人毛直径的1/100。最近已经开发了超分辨率显微镜，可以解决仅相距10 nm的个体分子。当在其他分子附近（例如蛋白质）成像荧光染料时，超分辨率显微镜取得了巨大的成功，但是当分子位于金属纳米结构附近时，它会遇到麻烦。当分子与金属中的松散持有的电子相互作用时，就会出现问题，这使其位置模糊。在化学系的大分子，超分子和纳米化学计划的支持下，坦普尔大学的威利斯教授正在研究荧光分子与金属纳米颗粒的相互作用。 Willets教授和她的学生正在开发可以更好地指出荧光分子位置的方案。 该项目可以为产生更高的忠诚度超分辨率图像铺平道路，这可能有助于推进纳米技术以进行生物传感，纳米医学和太阳能转化。这项工作还为研究生和本科生提供了培训机会，从而促进了美国科学劳动力的发展。此外，Willets Lab在费城市中心的Freire Charter School的9年级科学课程中积极互动，帮助学生促进了对科学探索和发现的欣赏。 然后，使用超分辨率成像和极化分辨显微镜的组合来跟踪荧光分子的位置和方向如何影响荧光分子的定位精度。 在超分辨率成像中，单个荧光分子通过将其衍射限制的发射拟合到模型函数（例如二维高斯）来定位，以优于10 nm的精度来定位其空间位置。 但是，荧光发射极和纳米结构的等离子体模式之间的耦合会影响定位精度，从而导致荧光分子的计算位置从其真实位置转移。 理论建模提供了有关单个分子相对于等离激子纳米结构的位置和方向如何影响定位误差的洞察力。 By creating well-defined hybrid organic-plasmonic nanoparticles, the team is developing new analysis tools to extract information hidden in the fluorescence images to improve agreement between the super-resolved images and the actual nanostructure properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.