Chiral Plasmonics at the Single Nanoparticle and Single Molecule Level

有了这个奖项，化学部的大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目将资助威廉·马奇·莱斯大学的斯蒂芬·林克教授在单纳米粒子和潜在的单分子尺度上研究手性等离子体。手性对象不能与其镜像重叠。一个日常的例子是人类的手——右手的手套不适合左手。因此，一个物体的手性有时被称为它的手性。许多重要的分子都是手性的，包括药物、蛋白质和DNA。就药物而言，药物的手性对其功能是绝对必要的。用圆二色性（CD）光谱测定分子手性。莱斯大学的斯蒂芬·林克（Stephan Link）正在开发一种新的高灵敏度方法来测量单个分子的手性。这项工作的应用包括生物医学研究、制药工业、化学合成和催化。对纳米技术的科学研究和发现的兴奋是通过外展活动来传达的，比如莱斯大学的公民科学家计划，鼓励K-12学生追求科学相关领域的职业。本提案的目标是利用独特的光谱方法，能够记录单个等离子体纳米粒子的CD光谱和超分辨率成像单个分子，结合电子显微镜和电磁模拟。CD信号增强与纳米结构组成和形态（大小、形状、粒子间耦合）以及内在联系的等离子体模式（亮、暗）之间的关系是可能的。这些信息不能在系综测量中获得，特别是对于化学合成的强耦合纳米颗粒。这些研究的结果有望在从开发手性传感平台、手性催化剂到等离子体-激子耦合的基础等领域产生广泛的科学影响。本研究包含了多个学科的概念，形成了一个专门为高中、本科生和研究生设计的广泛教育计划的平台。与科学研究和纳米技术发现相关的激动人心的小片段将通过外展活动（如莱斯大学的公民科学家计划）传达给K-12学生，让这些学生通过stem相关领域的职业生涯接触到创造性进步的潜力。

With this award, the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Professor Stephen Link of William March Rice University to study chiral plasmonics on the single nanoparticle and potentially single molecule scale. Chiral objects cannot be overlaid with their mirror image. An everyday example of this is human hands- a right handed glove doesn't fit on the left hand. Therefore, the chirality of an object is sometimes termed its handedness. Many important molecules are chiral, including drugs, proteins, and DNA. In the case of pharmaceuticals, the chirality of the drug is absolutely essential to its function. Molecular chirality is measured by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Stephan Link, at Rice University, is developing novel highly sensitive methods to measure the chirality of single molecules. The applications of this work include biomedical research, the pharmaceutical industry, and chemical synthesis and catalysis. The excitement about scientific research and discovery in nanotechnology is communicated through outreach activities such as Rice University's Civic Scientist Program to K-12 students to inspire them to pursue careers in science-related fields. The objectives of this proposal are to be accomplished using unique spectroscopic methods capable of recording CD spectra of single plasmonic nanoparticles and super-resolution imaging single molecules, in combination with electron microscopy and electromagnetic simulations. The relationship between CD signal enhancement and nanostructure composition and morphology (size, shape, interparticle coupling) and the intrinsically linked plasmon modes (bright, dark) is possible with the proposed studies. This information cannot be obtained in ensemble measurements, especially for strongly coupled nanoparticles prepared by chemical synthesis. The outcomes of these studies are expected have wide scientific impact in areas ranging from the development of chiral sensing platforms, and of chiral catalysts to the basis of plasmon-exciton coupling. Concepts from multiple disciplines are included in this research, forming a platform for a broad educational program specifically designed for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Exciting vignettes related to scientific research and discovery in nanotechnology are to be communicated to K-12 students through outreach activities, such as Rice University's Civic Scientist Program, to expose these students to the potential for creative advancement via careers in STEM-related fields.