title: Water-dispersible three-dimensional LC-nanoresonators.
abstract: Nanolithography techniques enable the fabrication of complex nanodevices that can be used for biosensing purposes. However, these devices are normally supported by a substrate and their use is limited to in vitro applications. Following a top-down procedure, we designed and fabricated composite inductance-capacitance (LC) nanoresonators that can be detached from their substrate and dispersed in water. The multimaterial composition of these resonators makes it possible to differentially functionalize different parts of the device to obtain stable aqueous suspensions and multi-sensing capabilities. For the first time, we demonstrate detection of these devices in an aqueous environment, and we show that they can be sensitized to their local environment and to chemical binding of specific molecular moieties. The possibility to optically probe the nanoresonator resonance in liquid dispersions paves the way to a variety of new applications, including injection into living organisms for in vivo sensing and imaging.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; Center for Nanotechnology Innovation @NEST, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Clericò
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation @NEST, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pisa, Italy; NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Masini
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation @NEST, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boni
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation @NEST, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pisa, Italy; NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meucci
authors.affiliation: NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cecchini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; Department of Physiology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Fabio A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Recchia
authors.affiliation: NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tredicucci
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology Innovation @NEST, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bifone
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D049329:Nanostructures; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water