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Spaser Nanoparticles for Ultranarrow Bandwidth STED Super-Resolution Imaging.
Zhaoshuai Gao1, Jian-Hua Wang1, Pei Song1
1State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|January 21, 2020
Summary
Surface plasmon laser (spaser) nanoprobes enable stimulated emission depletion (STED) super-resolution microscopy by overcoming spectral crosstalk. This breakthrough achieves 74 nm resolution, paving the way for multiplexed imaging of numerous targets.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Super-resolution microscopy offers high spatial detail but is limited by spectral crosstalk between fluorophores, restricting the number of distinguishable targets.
- Surface plasmon laser (spaser) nanoprobes confine lasing emission to the nanoscale, presenting a potential solution to spectral crosstalk limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To realize narrow-band stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy using spaser nanoparticles.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of spaser-based STED super-resolution by suppressing spaser emission with a depletion beam.
Main Methods:
- Development and application of spaser nanoparticles for STED nanoscopy.
- Utilizing a depletion beam to suppress population inversion and erase spaser emission.
- Collection of coherent spasing signals for imaging.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated the physics concept and feasibility of spaser-based STED super-resolution.
- Achieved a spatial resolution of 74 nm using 47 nm spaser nanoparticles with a 3.8 nm spectral linewidth.
- Imaging was performed within a narrow acquisition bandwidth of 10 nm.
Conclusions:
- Spaser nanoparticles provide a foundation for STED super-resolution microscopy, overcoming limitations of spectral crosstalk.
- The developed spaser-based STED nanoscopy achieves high resolution and narrow spectral linewidth.
- Potential for spectral-multiplexed imaging, sensing, and cytometry with large numbers of targets by multiplexing spaser nanoparticles at different wavelengths.
