High spatiotemporal resolution live-cell imaging on plasmonic metasurfaces

Abstract

Recently we have developed LSPR-mediated high resolution live-cell imaging techniques for adhesive cells on plasmonic metasurface composed of self-assembled gold or silver nanoparticles. Compared with other super-resolution microscopy techniques, our LSPR-mediated imaging is extremely simple but quite effective for monitoring the molecular dynamics at a nanointerface. The LSPR of the plasmonic metasurface provides high-contrast interfacial images due to the confined light within a region a few tens of nanometers from the particles and the enhancement of fluorescence. The improved lateral resolution reaches down to the theoretical limit even during cell movement due to the properties of the metasurface with an extremely high refractive index. In the presentation, we will present our latest imaging data concerning molecular dynamics in live cells, which were not visualized by other super-resolution imaging methods with low temporal resolution.