SBIR Phase I: A New Optical Detector for Dipicolinic Acid Based on the Quantum Confined Stark Effect

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目是为了证明基于量子受限斯塔克效应开发新型光学传感器的可行性。双烷酸是炭疽菌等细菌内孢子的重要化学标志。然而，DPA的荧光发射光谱很宽，因此很难在存在其他天然荧光团的情况下进行识别。最近的研究表明，当应用于纳米线结构的有机荧光分子时，量子受限斯塔克效应会导致发射光谱的峰值波长发生分子特有的位移。此外，对于一些分子，已经诱导了分子棱镜效应，从而将通常没有特征的荧光分子的发射光谱分裂成不同的、等间距的能谱。除了在生物传感方面的应用外，拟议的研究项目还将在其他各种技术领域产生广泛影响。例如，选择性地调谐有机荧光团中的峰值发射波长的能力可用于开发具有可调节发射特性的新光学显示器或用于波长选择的新可调谐滤光器。此外，对应用于有机荧光分子的量子受限斯塔克效应的总体理解可能会导致从能量采集到DNA标记等领域的各种新发现。

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a new optical sensor for dipicolinic acid (DPA) based on the quantum confined Stark effect. Dipicolinic acid is an important chemical signature for bacterial endospores such as anthrax. However, the fluorescence emission spectrum for DPA is broad, making it difficult to identify in the presence of other naturally occurring fluorophores. It has recently been shown that the quantum confined Stark effect, when applied to organic, fluorescent molecules in a nanowire configuration, induces a molecule-specific shift in the peak wavelength of the emission spectrum. In addition, for some molecules, a molecular prism effect has been induced, whereby the normally featureless emission spectrum of a fluorescent molecule is split into distinct, equally spaced energy lines. In addition to the application in biosensing, the proposed research project will have broad impact in various other technological areas. For example, the ability to selectively tune the peak emission wavelength in organic fluorophores may be used to develop new optical displays with adjustable emission properties or new tunable optical filters for wavelength selection. In addition, a general understanding of the quantum confined Stark effect applied to organic fluorescent molecules could lead to a wide variety of new discoveries in areas ranging from energy harvesting to DNA labeling.