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Matching Nanoantenna Field Confinement to FRET Distances Enhances Förster Energy Transfer Rates.
- Source :
-
Nano letters [Nano Lett] 2015 Sep 09; Vol. 15 (9), pp. 6193-201. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Aug 05. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is widely applied in chemistry, biology, and nanosciences to assess distances on sub-10 nm scale. Extending the range and applicability of FRET requires enhancement of the fluorescence energy transfer at a spatial scale comparable to the donor-acceptor distances. Plasmonic nanoantennas are ideal to concentrate optical fields at a nanoscale fully matching the FRET distance range. Here, we present a resonant aluminum nanogap antenna tailored to enhance single molecule FRET. A 20 nm gap confines light into a nanoscale volume, providing a field gradient on the scale of the donor-acceptor distance, a large 10-fold increase in the local density of optical states, and strong intensity enhancement. With our dedicated design, we obtain 20-fold enhancement on the fluorescence emission of donor and acceptor dyes, and most importantly up to 5-fold enhancement of the FRET rate for donor-acceptor separations of 10 nm. We also provide a thorough framework of the fluorescence photophysics occurring in the nanoscale gap volume. The presented enhancement of energy transfer flow at the nanoscale opens a yet unexplored facet of the various advantages of optical nanoantennas and provides a new strategy toward biological applications of single molecule FRET at micromolar concentrations.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1530-6992
- Volume :
- 15
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Nano letters
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 26237534
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02535