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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Trapping of Micro Particles in Nanoplasmonic Optical Lattice
Published on: September 5, 2017
Tuning DNA binding kinetics in an optical trap by plasmonic nanoparticle heating
Lidiya Osinkina1, S Carretero-Palacios, Joachim Stehr
1Photonics and Optoelectronics Group, Department of Physics and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Amalienstrasse 54, 80799 Munich, Germany.
Nano Letters
|June 20, 2013
Summary
Plasmonic heating precisely controls DNA binding kinetics in nanoparticle dimers. Higher temperatures reduce DNA hybridization rates, demonstrating a new method for fine-tuning molecular interactions.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Biophysics
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- DNA hybridization is crucial for molecular recognition and nanotechnology.
- Optical tweezers and gold nanoparticles are used to study single-molecule interactions.
- Plasmonic heating offers a localized and tunable energy source.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of plasmonic heating on DNA binding kinetics at the single nanoparticle dimer level.
- To demonstrate the control over biomolecular binding events using tunable plasmonic heating.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing optical tweezers to trap individual gold nanoparticle dimers.
- Monitoring DNA hybridization via changes in plasmon resonance frequency due to nanoparticle coupling.
- Applying controlled plasmonic heating through varying optical trapping powers.
Main Results:
- DNA hybridization rates decreased by over an order of magnitude at higher trapping powers (temperatures).
- Higher temperatures were found to inhibit the formation of nanoparticle dimers with weaker DNA binding energies.
- Plasmonic heating demonstrated a significant influence on the kinetics of DNA binding events.
Conclusions:
- Plasmonic heating provides a method to fine-tune the kinetics of biomolecular binding.
- Temperature control is a critical factor in DNA hybridization and molecular assembly.
- This technique opens avenues for precise control in nanoscale molecular interactions.
