A rapid and simple cancer detection method independent of cancer type is an important technology for cancer diagnosis. Although the expression profiles of biological molecules contained in cancer ...cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered candidates for discrimination indexes to identify any cancerous cells in the body, it takes a certain amount of time to examine these expression profiles. Here, we report the shape distributions of EVs suspended in a solution and the potential of these distributions as a discrimination index to discriminate cancer cells. Distribution analysis is achieved by low-aspect-ratio nanopore devices that enable us to rapidly analyze EV shapes individually in solution, and the present results reveal a dependence of EV shape distribution on the type of cells (cultured liver, breast, and colorectal cancer cells and cultured normal breast cells) secreting EVs. The findings in this study provide realizability and experimental basis for a simple method to discriminate several types of cancerous cells based on rapid analyses of EV shape distributions.
We propose a unique random metal nanohemisphere on mirror (NHoM) structure to tune the surface plasmon (SP) resonance in a flexible manner. The SP resonance peak was split into two peaks owing to the ...strong coupling between the SP mode in the metal nanohemisphere and the mirror image mode generated in the metal substrate. This phenomenon is based on the fact that the strong coupling and the induced electromagnetic effects are similar to those pertaining to the Rabi splitting, Fano resonance, and electromagnetically induced transparency, thus providing quantum effect analogies. These phenomena have recently attracted increased attention and have been studied with nanocavities fabricated with top-down nanotechnologies. Compared with previous reports, NHoM structures can be fabricated in a much easier manner and are tunable in rather wider wavelength regions without nanofabrication technologies. The SP resonance peaks were enhanced, sharpened dramatically, and tuned flexibly, based on the optimization of the thickness of the spacer layer between the metal hemisphere and metal substrate. Experimental results were reproduced and were explained based on finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. These phenomena have never been observed previously on similar nanosphere on mirror (NSoM) because nanohemispherical structures were required. The NHoM nanocavity structure has a quality factor >200 that is surprisingly high for the localized SP mode of nanoparticles. Flexible tuning of the SP resonance with the use of NHoM is envisaged to lead to the development of new applications and technologies in the field of plasmonics and nanophotonics.
Abstract
Controlling the fast electrophoresis of nano-objects in solid-state nanopores is a critical issue for achieving electrical analysis of single-particles by ionic current. In particular, it is ...crucial to slow-down the translocation dynamics of nanoparticles. We herein report that a focused electric field and associated water flow in a surround-gate nanopore can be used to trap and manipulate a nanoscale object. We fine-control the electroosmosis-induced water flow by modulating the wall surface potential via gate voltage. We find that a nanoparticle can be captured in the vicinity of the conduit by balancing the counteracting electrophoretic and hydrodynamic drag forces. By creating a subtle force imbalance, in addition, we also demonstrate a gate-controllable motion of single-particles moving at an extremely slow speed of several tens of nanometers per second. The present method may be useful in single-molecule detection by solid-state nanopores and nanochannels.
This paper proposes a simple, effective, non-scanning method for the visualization of a cell-attached nanointerface. The method uses localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excited homogeneously ...on a two-dimensional (2D) self-assembled gold-nanoparticle sheet. The LSPR of the gold-nanoparticle sheet provides high-contrast interfacial images due to the confined light within a region a few tens of nanometers from the particles and the enhancement of fluorescence. Test experiments on rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells with fluorescence-labeled actin filaments revealed high axial and lateral resolution even under a regular epifluorescence microscope, which produced higher quality images than those captured under a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope. This non-scanning-type, high-resolution imaging method will be an effective tool for monitoring interfacial phenomena that exhibit relatively rapid reaction kinetics in various cellular and molecular dynamics.
Techniques for micro/nano-scale patterning of large metal nanoparticle sheets can potentially be used to realize high-performance photoelectronic devices because the sheets provide greatly enhanced ...electrical fields around the nanoparticles due to localized surface plasmon resonances. However, no single metal nanoparticle sheet currently exists with sufficient durability for conventional lithographical processes. Here, we report large photo and/or e-beam lithographic patternable metal nanoparticle sheets with improved durability by incorporating molecular cross-linked structures between nanoparticles. The cross-linked structures were easily formed by a one-step chemical reaction; immersing a single nanoparticle sheet consisting of core metals, to which capping molecules ionically bond, in a dithiol ethanol solution. The ligand exchange reaction processes were discussed in detail, and we demonstrated 20 m wide line and space patterns, and a 170 nm wide line of the silver nanoparticle sheets.
Rapid structural analysis of nanoscale matter in a liquid environment represents innovative technologies that reveal the identities and functions of biologically important molecules. However, there ...is currently no method with high spatio-temporal resolution that can scan individual particles in solutions to gain structural information. Here we report the development of a nanopore platform realizing quantitative structural analysis for suspended nanomaterials in solutions with a high z-axis and xy-plane spatial resolution of 35.8 1.1 and 12 nm, respectively. We used a low thickness-to-diameter aspect ratio pore architecture for achieving cross sectional areas of analyte (i.e. tomograms). Combining this with multiphysics simulation methods to translate ionic current data into tomograms, we demonstrated rapid structural analysis of single polystyrene (Pst) beads and single dumbbell-like Pst beads in aqueous solutions.
In this study, we observed the peak splitting of absorption spectra for two-dimensional sheets of silver nanoparticles due to the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect. This unique ...optical phenomenon was observed for the multilayered nanosheets up to 20 layers on a metal substrate, while this phenomenon was not observed on a transparent substrate. The wavelength and intensities of the split peaks depend on the number of layers, and the experimental results were well reproduced by the calculation of the Transfer-Matrix method by employing the effective medium approximation. The Ag nanosheets used in this study can act as a plasmonic metamaterial light absorber, which has a such large oscillator strength. This phenomenon is a fundamental optical property of a thin film on a metal substrate but has never been observed because native materials do not have a large oscillator strength. This new type of EIT effect using a plasmonic metamaterial light absorber presents the potential for the development of future optic and photonic technologies.
Nanopore devices are expected to advance the next-generation of nanobiodevices because of their strong sensing and analyzing capabilities for single molecules and bioparticles. However, the device ...throughputs are not sufficiently high. Although analytes pass through a nanopore by electrophoresis, the electric field gradient is localized inside and around a nanopore structure. Thus, analytes located far from a nanopore cannot be driven by electrophoresis. Here, we report nanopore structures for high-throughput sensing, namely, inverted pyramid (IP)-shaped nanopore structures. Silicon-based IP-shaped nanopore structures create a homogeneous electric field gradient within a nanopore device, indicating that most of the analytes can pass through a nanopore by electrophoresis, even though the analytes are suspended far from the nanopore entrance. In addition, the nanostructures can be fabricated only by photolithography. The present study suggests a high potential for inverted pyramid shapes to serve as nanopore devices for high-throughput sensing.
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