Laboratory for Photonics of Surfaces and Interfaces

表面和界面光子学实验室(LoPSI)表面和界面科学正受到越来越多的关注和日益重要。它是一个高度跨学科的领域，从物理学、化学和生物学等基础科学到应用科学，再到日常生活。典型的应用--仅举几个例子--是化学和生化传感器、自清洁表面和组织工程。表面在纳米技术的所有方面都发挥着重要作用，但在所有宏观和技术表面上也是如此。在跨学科表面科学的许多方面，一个仍未解决的问题的典型例子是被称为生物污垢的船只上的“海洋生物”的生长。随着生物质的增加，燃料消耗迅速增加。防污涂料将对海运物流产生巨大影响。心脏瓣膜的钙化，细胞与植入物之间的粘连强度和质量的知识，或防止食品工厂或自来水厂爆发沙门氏菌的坚固抗菌涂层，都是这方面需要基础科学投入的其他例子。在各种成熟的表面和界面研究技术中，有一套引人注目的光学方法，这些方法基于波导和等离子体设备，显示直接位于感兴趣的点：表面的一层薄膜光(消失场)。在纳米等离子体中，金属纳米颗粒(NPs)显示出非常强的光膜和强吸收带，使得简单的比色设备可以应用于高灵敏度的化学传感。表面光子学也被应用到表面显微镜中。散射和荧光消逝显微镜现在可用于研究表面和界面、涂层、人造生物膜、生物膜形成(细菌)和单细胞-底物相互作用。LoPSI以其高度复杂的跨学科研究计划和成就而闻名世界，通过许多科学贡献，如高影响力的出版物、专利和杰出的会议贡献。LoPSI拥有超薄和薄膜物理、化学和生物学方面的专业知识(从单分子膜到生物膜)。其中一个目标是制造高度定向的层状胶原膜，模仿角膜的内部结构，尺寸约为1平方厘米。有了这些多层膜，应该能够在人眼内重建角膜(例如青光眼患者)。在这些光子和等离子体工具及其组合的帮助下，超薄的天然和工程薄膜以及位于表面的活细胞和生物膜将根据它们特定的光学预测进行微观检测、表征和成像。在目前的提案中，重点是开发由玻璃或聚合物制成的新型高光学质量的波导芯片。这些波导芯片将用于金NP生物传感(癌症标记物)，特别是用于消逝显微镜，以便研究和提高细胞对技术(植入)表面的粘附性。未来的一个目标是制造一个微型的婴儿起搏器。将开发可重复使用的玻璃芯片，以促进新的显微技术的使用，ITER等用于干细胞研究。在五年的时间里，硕士和博士研究生将接受最先进的技术和研发战略方面的出色培训，这将促进、加强和促进加拿大现在和未来的高科技研发，从而为加拿大的经济财富和加拿大人的生活做出积极贡献。

Summary of ProposalThe Laboratory for Photonics of Surfaces and Interfaces (LoPSI)Surface and interface science is gaining more interest and increasing importance. It is a highly interdisciplinary field and spans from fundamental sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology to the applied sciences and into daily life. Typical applications - just to name a few -are chemical and biochemical sensors, self-cleaning surfaces and tissue engineering. Surfaces play a major role in all aspects of nanotechnology but also on all macroscopic and technical surfaces. A typical example of a still unsolved problem with many aspects of interdisciplinary surface science is the growth of "sea creatures" on ships called bio-fouling. The fuel consumption increases rapidly with increasing biomass. An anti-fouling paint would have an enormous impact on sea-logistics. The calcification of heart valves, the knowledge of the adhesion strength and quality between a cell and an implant or sturdy antibacterial coatings avoiding salmonella outbreaks in food plants or water works are other examples in this context needing fundamental scientific input. Among a variety of well-established techniques for surface and interface research is the remarkable set of optical approaches based on waveguides and plasmonic devices showing a thin film of light (an evanescent field) directly located at the point of interest: the surface. In nano-plasmonics, metal nanoparticles (NPs) show a very strong film of light in conjunction with a strong absorption band allowing simple colorimetric devices with application in high sensitivity chemical sensing. The surface photonics are also applied in surface microscopy. Scattering and fluorescence evanescent microscopies are now available to study surfaces and interfaces, coatings, artificial bio-membranes, biofilm formation (bacteria), and single cell-substratum interaction. The LoPSI is known world-wide for its highly sophisticated, interdisciplinary research program and achievements through many scientific contributions in form of high impact publications, patents, and outstanding conference contribution. The LoPSI carries expertise in ultra-thin and thin film physics, chemistry and biology (from monolayers to bio-membranes).One aim is the fabrication of highly oriented collagen films in layered form, mimicking the cornea's internal structure, with a size in the order of 1 cm2. With these multilayered films cornea reconstruction in the human eye should be enabled (e.g. glaucoma patients). With the aid of these photonic and plasmonic tools and combinations thereof, ultrathin natural and engineered films as well as living cells and biofilms located on surfaces will be detected, characterized, and imaged microscopically based on their specific optical predicates. In the current proposal the focus lies on the development of novel high optical quality waveguide chips fabricated out of glass or from polymers. These waveguide chips will be used for gold NP bio-sensing (cancer markers), for evanescent microscopy in particular to allow studying and enhancing the adhesion-quality of cells to a technical (implant) surface. One future aim is a miniaturized infant pace maker. Re-usable glass chip will be developed to foster the use of the novel microscopy technology, iter alia for stem cell research. During the 5 year period graduate students, MSc and PhD, will be excellently trained on state-of-the-art technology and R&D strategies which will advance, enhance and foster Canada's high tech R&D now and in the future; therefore contributing actively to Canada's economic wealth and to a Canadian life.