Laboratory for Photonics of Surfaces and Interfaces

表面和界面光子学实验室（LoPSI）表面和界面科学越来越受到人们的关注和重视。它是一个高度跨学科的领域，从物理、化学、生物学等基础科学到应用科学，再到日常生活。典型的应用-仅举几例-是化学和生化传感器，自清洁表面和组织工程。表面在纳米技术的各个方面发挥着重要作用，而且在所有宏观和技术表面上也起着重要作用。交叉学科表面科学的许多方面仍未解决的问题的一个典型例子是船上“海洋生物”的增长，称为生物污染。随着生物质的增加，燃料消耗迅速增加。防污涂料将对海上物流产生巨大影响。心脏瓣膜的钙化，细胞与植入物之间的粘附强度和质量的知识，或防止食品工厂或自来水厂沙门氏菌爆发的坚固抗菌涂层，都是在这方面需要基础科学投入的其他例子。在表面和界面研究的各种成熟技术中，基于波导和等离子体器件的一套引人注目的光学方法显示了直接位于感兴趣点的光薄膜（倏逝场）：表面。在纳米等离子体动力学中，金属纳米粒子（NPs）显示出非常强的光膜和强吸收带，允许简单的比色装置应用于高灵敏度化学传感。表面光子学在表面显微术中也有应用。散射和荧光消失显微镜现在可用于研究表面和界面、涂层、人工生物膜、生物膜形成（细菌）和单细胞-基质相互作用。LoPSI以其高度复杂的跨学科研究计划和通过高影响力出版物，专利和杰出会议贡献形式的许多科学贡献而闻名于世。LoPSI拥有超薄和薄膜物理，化学和生物学（从单层到生物膜）方面的专业知识。其中一个目标是制造高度定向的胶原膜，以层状的形式，模仿角膜的内部结构，大小约为1平方厘米。有了这些多层膜，人眼（如青光眼患者）的角膜重建就可以实现。借助这些光子和等离子体工具及其组合，将根据其特定的光学谓词对表面上的超薄天然和工程膜以及活细胞和生物膜进行检测、表征和显微成像。在目前的提案中，重点在于开发由玻璃或聚合物制成的新型高光学质量波导芯片。这些波导芯片将用于金NP生物传感（癌症标志物），特别是用于瞬变显微镜，以研究和提高细胞对技术（植入物）表面的粘附质量。未来的一个目标是制造一种小型化的婴儿起搏器。将开发可重复使用的玻璃芯片，以促进新显微镜技术的使用，特别是干细胞研究。在5年的时间里，研究生、硕士和博士将在最先进的技术和研发战略方面接受良好的培训，这将推动、加强和促进加拿大现在和未来的高科技研发；因此对加拿大的经济财富和加拿大人的生活做出了积极的贡献。

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.