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Metamaterials are being increasingly used as highly sensitive detection devices. The design of these structures and the ability to effect changes in response through small changes in the geometry of their constituent elements allow for the enhancement of known analysis techniques such as infrared or Raman spectroscopy. High electromagnetic fields have been shown to occur in features such as small gaps and sharp tips and these so called “hot-spots” are the main focus of recent work in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Previous work has shown dipole pairs with small gaps between them to be suitable for the SERS detection of very small amounts of organic compounds. The main difficulties lie in the small dimensions (≤100 nm) necessary to attain a significant response at the typical Raman pump wavelengths. Also the small size of the gaps is a challenge when it comes to prevent “bridging” between the structures during the fabrication process. In this work we show, through simulations, that carefully controlling the length of dipolar structures as well as the gap between these dipoles a resonant response can be achieved close to the pump Raman wavelengths. Also, we see that increasing the width of the dipole pair shifts the resonant peaks to longer wavelengths. By optimizing their geometry, more efficient and easier to fabricate structures can be used as environmental organic sensors.

Fluorescence microscopy provides a non-invasive means for visualising dynamic protein interactions. As well as allowing the calculation of kinetic processes via the use of time-resolved fluorescence, localisation of the protein within cells or model systems can be monitored. These fluorescence lifetime images (FLIM) have become the preferred technique for elucidating protein dynamics due to the fact that the fluorescence lifetime is an absolute measure, in the main independent of fluorophore concentration and intensity fluctuations caused by factors such as photobleaching. In this work we demonstrate the use of a time-resolved fluorescence microscopy, employing a high repetition rate laser excitation source applied to study the influence of a metal surface on fluorescence tagged protein and to elucidate viscosity using the fluorescence lifetime probe DASPMI. These were studied in a cellular environment (yeast) and in a model system based on a sol-gel derived material, in which silver nanostructures were formed in situ using irradiation from a semiconductor laser in CW mode incorporated on a compact time-resolved fluorescence microscope (HORIBA Scientific DeltaDiode and DynaMyc).

This paper describes a new method for the immoblization of metalloporphyrin molecules for optical oxygen sensing. The porphyrin molecules have an acrylamide group attached allowing the porphyrin indicator to be covalently bound within a hydrogel polymer. Two hydrogel monomers: hydroxyethylmethylacrylamide (HEMA) and acrylamide have been investigated to assess their suitability as host polymers for the porphyrins. The photophysics of both the base and Platinum porphyrin: tetra porphyrin are discussed. Platinum tetra porphyrin bound in a hydrogel polymer using HEMA as the monomer unit was found to have a good sensitivity to oxygen.