title: Metamaterial-enhanced vibrational absorption spectroscopy for the detection of protein molecules.
abstract: From visible to mid-infrared frequencies, molecular sensing has been a major successful application of plasmonics because of the enormous enhancement of the surface electromagnetic nearfield associated with the induced collective motion of surface free carriers excited by the probe light. However, in the lower-energy terahertz (THz) region, sensing by detecting molecular vibrations is still challenging because of low sensitivity, complicated spectral features, and relatively little accumulated knowledge of molecules. Here, we report the use of a micron-scale thin-slab metamaterial (MM) architecture, which functions as an amplifier for enhancing the absorption signal of the THz vibration of an ultrathin adsorbed layer of large organic molecules. We examined bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a prototype large protein molecule and Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and 3,3'-diethylthiatricarbocyanine iodide (DTTCI) as examples of small molecules. Among them, our MM significantly magnified only the signal strength of bulky BSA. On the other hand, DTTCI and Rh6G are inactive, as they lack low-frequency vibrational modes in this frequency region. The results obtained here clearly demonstrate the promise of MM-enhanced absorption spectroscopy in the THz region for detection and structural monitoring of large biomolecules such as proteins or pathogenic enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam.|Quantum Photonic Science Research Center, Department of Physics, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea.
authors.forename: Tung S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Bui
authors.affiliation: International Center for Materials NanoArchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
authors.forename: Thang D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Dao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Luu H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Lam D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.affiliation: International Center for Materials NanoArchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohi
authors.affiliation: International Center for Materials NanoArchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nabatame
authors.affiliation: Quantum Photonic Science Research Center, Department of Physics, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea.
authors.forename: YoungPak
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: International Center for Materials NanoArchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.|Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-10 Nishi-8 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Chung V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Hoang
mesh_terms: D052160:Benzothiazoles / Q000032:analysis; D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000032:analysis; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000032:analysis; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry; D055068:Terahertz Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D052160:Benzothiazoles; D002232:Carbocyanines; D011506:Proteins; D012235:Rhodamines; C026188:rhodamine 6G; C025905:3,3'-diethylthiatricarbocyanine; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D012834:Silver; D012825:Silicon