NANOTECHNOLOGY/SINGLE-MOLECULE DETECTION: Trapping light in loops enables detection of individual molecules

Researchers looking for a way to optically detect single molecules have found a solution that involves nanoscale light manipulation. By shining circularly polarized light on window frame-shaped nanogold squares, scientists from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven; Flanders, Belgium) and colleagues were able to activate the entire surface of the nanostructure, thereby boosting the opportunity for interaction with biomolecules.¹ Their work could help advance technologies for visualizing both individual molecules and multiple-molecule interactions.

1. K. Valev et al., Adv. Mater., doi:10.1002/adma.201201151 (2012).