Journal article
Visualization of molecular fluorescence point spread functions via remote excitation switching fluorescence microscopy
L Su, G Lu, B Kenens, S Rocha, E Fron, H Yuan, C Chen, P Van Dorpe, MBJ Roeffaers, H Mizuno, J Hofkens, JA Hutchison, H Uji-I
Nature Communications | Published : 2015
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7287
Abstract
The enhancement of molecular absorption, emission and scattering processes by coupling to surface plasmon polaritons on metallic nanoparticles is a key issue in plasmonics for applications in (bio)chemical sensing, light harvesting and photocatalysis. Nevertheless, the point spread functions for single-molecule emission near metallic nanoparticles remain difficult to characterize due to fluorophore photodegradation, background emission and scattering from the plasmonic structure. Here we overcome this problem by exciting fluorophores remotely using plasmons propagating along metallic nanowires. The experiments reveal a complex array of single-molecule fluorescence point spread functions that..
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Awarded by Japan Science and Technology Agency
Funding Acknowledgements
Financial support of the 'Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek FWO' (Grants G0607.09, G.0459.10, G0990.11, G.0197.11, G.0259.12, G.0962.13, G0B55.14), the K.U. Leuven Research Fund (GOA 2011/03, CREA2009, OT/12/059), the Flemish government (long term structural funding-Methusalem funding CASAS METH/08/04), the Hercules foundation (HER/08/21), the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (IAP-VI/27), the EU FP7 programme (ITN-SUPERIOR PITN-GA-2009-238177), the European Research Council (starting grant PLASMHACAT #280064 to H.U. starting grant LIGHT #307523 to M.B.J.R. and advanced grant FLUOROCODE #291593 to J.H.) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency PRESTO programme to H.U. are gratefully acknowledged. G.L. and H.Y. thank the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) for postdoctoral fellowships. J.A.H. acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council DECRA scheme (DE130101300).