Plasmonic nanostructures concentrate electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale, dramatically amplifying the interaction between light and matter in their vicinity. We exploit these properties to develop high-sensitivity sensing platforms for environmental and biomedical analytes, and to engineer the emission properties of fluorescent systems — with a longer-term vision of integrating plasmonic elements into functional photonic devices.
Plasmonic Molecular Sensing
We develop sensing platforms that exploit plasmon-enhanced light-matter interactions for the detection and quantification of molecules at low concentrations. Our SPR-based approach uses camera-based colorimetric readout, enabling instrument-accessible sensing without the need for specialized optical equipment. Our SERS-based platforms target a range of analytes of environmental and biomedical relevance – including emerging pollutants such as pesticides (e.g. thiabendazole) and endocrine disruptors, nanoplastics, and biomolecules such as carotenoids detectable at nanomolar concentrations on optimized plasmonic substrates. Alongside application-driven work, we pursue fundamental SERS studies aimed at understanding enhancement mechanisms and substrate-analyte interactions at the molecular level.
Surface-Enhanced Fluorescence: from Sensing to Nanophotonic Light-Emitting Devices
When fluorescent emitters are placed in the near field of plasmonic nanostructures, their radiative rate, emission intensity, and excited-state lifetime are all modified through the Purcell effect and plasmonic field enhancement. We study these surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) phenomena using systems where fluorophores are embedded in polymer films coating plasmonic nanostructures, allowing precise control over emitter-metal separation and local environment. These platforms demonstrate strong fluorescence enhancement and modified emission dynamics, making them attractive both as SEF-based sensing substrates and as building blocks for nanophotonic light-emitting devices in which plasmonic or photonic elements are used to engineer and amplify light emission.
Collaboration:
SINTEF AS, Oslo, Norway; Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca; NanoMems SRL, Rasnov, Romania