The laboratory for photonics of surfaces and interfaces

在我们的现代世界中，随着高度复杂的合成化学和制药以及健康科学的非凡发展，对特定分子的监测变得越来越重要。生物、药物和化学制剂的检测或（癌症）患者中疾病指纹蛋白、酶和抗原的检测需要尽可能特异和快速地进行。有时甚至在线信息也是必不可少的，例如在手术或制药生产中的合成程序期间。这种分析研究的一个趋势是表面化和使用表面而不是体积传感器。这将允许将“传感器”放置在关键位置处，例如放置到患者的组织或血管中。拟议的研究集中在三个主题。首先，高灵敏度光学传感器的工程将把化学信息转化为物理可测量的量。其次，用于化学识别反应的优化表面的设计将允许高特异性，避免假阳性。第三，将建立一种新的技术来研究细胞-基质相互作用，例如促进植入技术。这些光学传感器、波导器件和金纳米颗粒的表面在操作期间携带“光膜”，其检测周围材料的变化。携带识别位点的分子通过化学手段固定在传感器表面上。如果配合分子存在于环境溶液或空气中，它们能够进行识别反应。光的偏振也被考虑在内。天然的光学活性蛋白质可以改变光的偏振方向。转动力取决于分子的内在结构，以及它们的生物学功能。将开发一种传感器，用于检测蛋白质的分子内在结构，而蛋白质的数量很少。

In our modern world - with its highly sophisticated synthetic chemistry and pharmacy and the extraordinary developments in health sciences - monitoring of specific molecules is gaining an increasing importance. The detection of biological, pharmaceutical and chemical agents or the detection of sickness-fingerprinting proteins, enzymes and antigens in (cancer) patients needs to be carried out as specific and quickly as possible. Sometimes even on-line information is essential, e.g. during surgery or a synthesis routine in pharmaceutical production. A trend in this analytical research is miniaturisation and the use of surfaces instead of volume sensors. This will allow to place the "sensor" at critical positions, e.g. into tissue or a vessel of a patient. The proposed research focuses on three subjects. Firstly, the engineering of highly sensitive optical transducers will translate chemical information into a physically measurable quantity. Secondly, the design of optimised surfaces for chemical recognition reactions will allow for high specificity avoiding false positives. Thirdly, a new technology will be established to study cell-substrate interaction, e.g. for fostering implant technology. The surfaces of these optical transducers, waveguide devices and gold nanoparticles, carry a "film of light" during operation which detects changes in the ambient material. Molecules carrying a recognition site are immobilised on the sensor surface by chemical means. They are able to perform a recognition reaction if the fitting molecule is present in the ambient solution or air. The polarisation of light is also taken into account. Natural optically active proteins turn the polarisation direction of light. The turning power depends on the molecular intrinsic structure, as well as their biological function. A sensor will be developed detecting the molecular intrinsic structure of proteins, which are available only in minute amounts.