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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

05:54
Polarization-Sensitive Two-Photon Microscopy for a Label-Free Amyloid Structural Characterization
Published on: September 8, 2023
Sub-micrometer polarimetry of chiral surfaces using near-field scanning optical microscopy
David H Dressler1, Asher Landau, Arie Zaban
1Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
Abstract:
In this work we have studied the optical activity of chiral crystal surfaces with polarized near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM); our studies clearly demonstrated that polarized NSOM can be utilized to determine chirality at crystal surfaces.
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Chirality
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity
It is essential to understand the difference between chiral and achiral interactions and the implications thereof in optical activity and their applications. Just as our feet, which are chiral, interact uniquely with chiral objects, such as a pair of shoes, but identically with achiral socks, enantiomers of a molecule exhibit different properties only when they interact with other chiral media. An example of a significant implication from this facet is the phenomenon known as optical activity,...

