Whispering-Gallery Mode Optoplasmonic Microcavities: From Advanced Single-Molecule Sensors and Microlasers to Applications in Synthetic Biology

Matthew C. Houghton; Samir Vartabi Kashanian; Thomas L. Derrien; Koji Masuda; Frank Vollmer

doi:10.1021/acsphotonics.3c01570

Whispering-Gallery Mode Optoplasmonic Microcavities: From Advanced Single-Molecule Sensors and Microlasers to Applications in Synthetic Biology

Matthew C. Houghton, Samir Vartabi Kashanian, Thomas L. Derrien, Koji Masuda, Frank Vollmer

Department of Life Sciences

University of Exeter

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

5 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Optical microcavities, specifically, whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcavities, with their remarkable sensitivity to environmental changes, have been extensively employed as biosensors, enabling the detection of a wide range of biomolecules and nanoparticles. To push the limits of detection down to the most sensitive single-molecule level, plasmonic nanorods are strategically introduced to enhance the evanescent fields of WGM microcavities. This advancement of optoplasmonic WGM sensors allows for the detection of single molecules of a protein, conformational changes, and even atomic ions, marking significant contributions in single-molecule sensing. This Perspective discusses the exciting research prospects in optoplasmonic WGM sensing of single molecules, including the study of enzyme thermodynamics and kinetics, the emergence of thermo-optoplasmonic sensing, the ultrasensitive single-molecule sensing on WGM microlasers, and applications in synthetic biology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	892-903
Number of pages	12
Journal	ACS Photonics
Volume	11
Issue number	3
Early online date	3 Feb 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.3c01570
Publication status	Published - 20 Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

.

Funding

M.H. acknowledges studentship funding from UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership BB/T008741/1. K.M. acknowledges funding from EPSRC synthetic biology postdoctoral fellowship EP/W013770/1. F.V. acknowledges funding from EPSRC EP/R031428/1 and EP/T002875/1, BBSRC BB/Y512977/1, and BBSRC-NSF BB/V004166/1. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.

Funders	Funder number
BBSRC-NSF	BB/V004166/1
UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded South West Biosciences	BB/T008741/1
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council	EP/R031428/1, EP/T002875/1, EP/W013770/1
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council	BB/Y512977/1
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Keywords

enzymes
optical microcavities
optoplasmonics
plasmonics
thermodynamics
whispering-gallery modes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Biotechnology
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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10.1021/acsphotonics.3c01570Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "Optical microcavities, specifically, whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcavities, with their remarkable sensitivity to environmental changes, have been extensively employed as biosensors, enabling the detection of a wide range of biomolecules and nanoparticles. To push the limits of detection down to the most sensitive single-molecule level, plasmonic nanorods are strategically introduced to enhance the evanescent fields of WGM microcavities. This advancement of optoplasmonic WGM sensors allows for the detection of single molecules of a protein, conformational changes, and even atomic ions, marking significant contributions in single-molecule sensing. This Perspective discusses the exciting research prospects in optoplasmonic WGM sensing of single molecules, including the study of enzyme thermodynamics and kinetics, the emergence of thermo-optoplasmonic sensing, the ultrasensitive single-molecule sensing on WGM microlasers, and applications in synthetic biology.",

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Whispering-Gallery Mode Optoplasmonic Microcavities: From Advanced Single-Molecule Sensors and Microlasers to Applications in Synthetic Biology

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this