Achieving Optical Refractive Index of 10-Plus by Colloidal Self-Assembly

This study demonstrates the developments of self-assembled optical metasurfaces to overcome inherent limitations in polarization density (P) within natural materials, which hinder achieving high refractive indices (n) at optical frequencies. The Maxwellian macroscopic description establishes a link between P and n, revealing a static limit in natural materials, restricting n to approximately 4.0 at optical frequencies. Optical metasurfaces, utilizing metallic colloids on a deep-subwavelength scale, offer a solution by unnaturally enhancing n through electric dipolar (ED) resonances. Self-assembly enables the creation of nanometer-scale metallic gaps between metallic nanoparticles (NPs), paving the way for achieving exceptionally high n at optical frequencies. This study focuses on assembling polyhedral gold (Au) NPs into a closely packed monolayer by rationally designing the polymeric ligand to balance attractive and repulsive forces, in that polymeric brush-mediated self-assembly of the close-packed Au NP monolayer is robustly achieved over a large-area. The resulting monolayer of Au nanospheres (NSs), nanooctahedras (NOs), and nanocubes (NCs) exhibits high macroscopic integrity and crystallinity, sufficiently enough for pushing n to record-high regimes. The study underlies the significance of capacitive coupling in achieving an unnaturally high n and explores fine-tuning Au NC size to optimize this coupling. The achieved n of 10.12 at optical frequencies stands as a benchmark, highlighting the potential of polyhedral Au NPs in advancing optical metasurfaces

Supplementary Figure S2 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S2 - PDF file 183K, Supplementary Figure S2. Generation of stable cells expressing ACTA2 shRNA. To establish stable cells expressing ACTA2 shRNA vector, PC14PE6 cells were transfected with each ACTA2 shRNA vector (shACTA2) or empty pLKO vector (shCTRL) Stable cells were selected by culturing with puromycin. ACTA2 mRNA level was determined by RT-qPCR. Migration and invasion of shACTA2 was checked by wound closure assay and Matrigel transwell assay, respectively, and represented relative migration and invasion as compared to shCTRL</p

Supplementary Figure S4 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S4 - PDF file 40K, Supplementary Figure S4. ACTA2 silencing did not affect proliferation, anoikis resistance, and adhesion A, To investigate the effect of ACTA2 silencing on proliferation, stable cells were seeded into 96-well plate and cellular proliferation was checked after 72 hours using EZ-Cytox cell viability assay kit. B, Cells undergoing death by anoikis were identified and quantified using the CytoSelectTM 24-well Anoikis Assay kit (Cell Bioloabs) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stable cells were added into either an anchorage-resistant poly-hema-coated or a control uncoated plate. After a 24 hours incubation, cell viability was determined using MTT. C, To perform cell adhesion assay, stable cells were seeded into 96-well plate precoated with 10 microg/mL ?bronectin (Millipore) and incubated for 1 hour. After 3 times washing with PBS to remove the unattached cells, the adherent cells were dyed with 0.1% crystal violet for 30 min at room temperature and solubilized with 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Absorbance at 550 nm was measured to determine cellular adhesion</p

Supplementary Figure S3 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S3 - PDF file 86K, Supplementary Figure S3. ACTA2 silencing inhibited migratory activity in various lung cancer cells To investigate the effect of ACTA2 silencing on migration, various lung cancer cells (H1299, H322, H460, and A549) were transfected with ACTA2-specific siRNA (Santa Cruz); 24 hours (h) post-transfection, cells were resuspended into 12-well plate. Confluent cell surface was scratched manually with pipette tips and migration distance was calculated by measuring wound closure. Data are shown as mean plus standard deviation from 3 separate experiments. *, P<0.05</p

Supplementary Figure S7 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

PDF file - 105K, Supplementary Figure S7. Metastatic activities of H322 cells were suppressed by ACTA2 silencing through downregulation of FAK and c-MET (A, B) To investigate the effect of ACTA2 silencing on migration and invasion, H322 cells were transfected with ACTA2-specific siRNA. 48 hours post-transfection, whole cell lysates and total RNA were prepared to determine the protein and mRNA level of ACTA2, FAK, c-MET, E-cadherin, and vimentin by Western blot and RT-qPCR, respectively. (C) Cells were transfected with indicated siRNA and after 24-hours incubation, cells were resuspended into 12-well plate. Migratory activity was determined by measuring migrated distance. (D) Transfected cells were added into Matrigel Transwell; after 24 hours, invading cells were stained and counted under microscope. *, P<0.05.</p

Supplementary Table S1 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

PDF file - 61K, Primers for RT-qPCR.</p

Supplementary Figure Legends from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure Legends - PDF file 75K, Supplementary figure legends</p

Supplementary Figure S6 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S6 - PDF file 30K, Supplementary Figure S6. Silencing of FAK and c-MET by specific siRNAs in PC14PE6 (A) and H322 (B) cells To investigate whether ACTA2 silencing inhibited migratory and invasive activity by suppressing FAK and c-MET expression, silencing of FAK and c-MET using specific siRNA was checked. PC14PE6 and H322 cells were transfected with each siRNA using Lipofectamine2000; 48 hours post-transfection, whole cell lysates were prepared and the level of FAK and c-MET was determined by Western blot</p

Supplementary Figure S1 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S1 - PDF file 84K, Supplementary Figure S1. Verification of specific detection of ACTA2 in lung ADC primary tumors Immunohistochmical staining patterns by two different antibodies against ACTA2 purchased from Dako and Thermo Scientific Pierce were compared in primary lung tumors from ACTA2-High and Low group</p

Supplementary Figure S5 from Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (ACTA2) Is Required for Metastatic Potential of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure S5 - PDF file 56K, Supplementary Figure S5. Effect of ACTA2 silencing using independent shRNA on expression of FAK and c-MET in PC14PE6 cells To investigate whether ACTA2 silencing decreased expression of FAK and c-MET, PC14PE6 cells were transfected with several ACAT2 shRNA using Lipofectamine2000. 48 hours post-transfection, whole cell lysates were prepared to detect the protein and mRNA level of FAK and c-MET by Western blot and RT-qPCR, respectively</p