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Updated: Jan 6, 2026
11:42
Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities
Published on: July 24, 2015
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Synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy on a graphene chip
Leonel M Meireles1, Ingrid D Barcelos2, Gustavo A Ferrari1
1University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 30123-970, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. rlacerda@fisica.ufmg.br.
Lab on a Chip
|October 2, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed a graphene liquid platform for nanoscale infrared analysis of biomaterials in liquid. This technique overcomes water
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Biophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Accessing biochemistry in biologically relevant liquid environments is crucial for research.
- Synchrotron infrared spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) offers high sensitivity but faces limitations in subcellular analysis and aqueous samples.
- On-chip liquid cells provide controlled environments for analyzing biomaterials in liquid.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel liquid platform for nanoscale infrared analysis of biomaterials in aqueous environments.
- To overcome the limitations of traditional μ-FTIR in studying biological processes in liquids.
- To enable high-resolution chemical analysis of biomaterials at the subcellular level.
Main Methods:
- Development of a specialized liquid platform featuring a graphene optical window.
- Integration of near-field optical microscopy with synchrotron infrared radiation.
- Measurement of nanoscale infrared absorbance spectra of various biological liquids and protein clusters.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated nanoscale infrared analysis of biomaterials in aqueous solutions.
- Successfully visualized protein secondary structure signatures in water.
- Achieved high-quality chemical fingerprinting of biomaterials at the nanoscale.
Conclusions:
- The developed graphene liquid platform enables nanoscale chemical analysis of biomaterials in wet conditions.
- This approach overcomes previous limitations of μ-FTIR in aqueous environments.
- The platform serves as a template for future microfluidic devices for dynamic, nanoscale-resolved chemical analysis.
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