Theory of surface-plasmon resonance optical-field enhancement at prolate spheroids

The optical-field enhancement from plasmon resonance at spheroids is studied by solving Maxwell equations using spheroidal vector wave functions. This treatment is an extension of the Mie theory for spheres. The phase retardation or dephasing effects, as studied by finite-element methods in a previous article, are confirmed. Nevertheless, the optical-field enhancement is shown to be substantial under certain resonance conditions. It is suggested that the positions of the resonances in parameter space are determined by global antenna properties and the magnitude of the field enhancement by local plasmon resonance.</p

Optical trapping of single fluorescent molecules at the detection spots of nanoprobes

We propose a scheme of optical trapping of fluorescent molecules, based on the strongly enhanced optical field due to surface plasmon resonances at laser illuminated metal tips or particles. A semiclassical approach is compared to a quantum-mechanical one. Attractive as well as repulsive forces are possible depending on the wavelength of the optical field. The trapping potential is shown to be strong enough to overcome the Brownian motion in water solution for common optical tweezer light inten-sities. Single molecule resonance Raman spectroscopy probes are particularly well suited for the trap-ping scheme. Finally we propose intracellular probing of the function of biomolecules as an application.</p

dc characteristics of a nanoscale water-based transistor

We demonstrate a nanoscale water-based transistor. The presented nanoscale water-based transistor relies on the controlled modification of the pH in deionized water through the base applied electric field. The dc characteristics are presented and studied with a focus on the influence of the base applied electric field, the base electrode design, and their proximity to the sensing emitter and collector nanoelectrodes. The demonstrated water-based nanoscale device is of interest for many bioelectrical applications due to the biocompatibility and the wide usage and presence of water in biological systems.</p

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be characterized by a specific pattern of orientation fluctuations of actin molecules

A single-point mutation in the gene encoding the ventricular myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) is sufficient to cause familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC). Most likely, the underlying cause of this disease is an inefficient energy utilization by the mutated cardiac muscle. We set out to devise a simple method to characterize two FHC phenotypes caused by the R58Q and D166V mutations in RLC. The method is based on the ability to observe a few molecules of actin in working ex vivo heart myofibril. Actin is labeled with extremely diluted fluorescent dye, and a small volume within the I-band (10⁻¹⁶L), containing on average three actin molecules, is observed by confocal microscopy. During muscle contraction, myosin cross-bridges deliver cyclic impulses to actin. As a result, actin molecules undergo periodic fluctuations of orientation. We measured these fluctuations by recording the parallel and perpendicular components of fluorescent light emitted by an actin-bound fluorophore. The histograms of fluctuations of fluorescent actin molecules in wild-type (WT) hearts in rigor were represented by perfect Gaussian curves. In contrast, histograms of contracting heart muscle were peaked and asymmetric, suggesting that contraction occurred in at least two steps. Furthermore, the differences between histograms of contracting FHC R58Q and D166V hearts versus corresponding contracting WT hearts were statistically significant. On the basis of our results, we suggest a simple new method of distinguishing between healthy and FHC R58Q and D166V hearts by analyzing the probability distribution of polarized fluorescence intensity fluctuations of sparsely labeled actin molecules.9 page(s