Surface Plasmon Resonance Induced Photothermal Lysis of the Cell

Cell Lysis is the imperative first step towards obtaining the intracellular contents, which hold valuable genetic and pathogenic information. The process must be carried out with extreme care to avoid damaging or altering the cell contents or indeed test conditions. As the resulting clinical information is so important, it is an intensively researched topic. Here we examine the resulting photothermal effects when a human cell in aqueous solution is brought in contact with the nobel metal film of a Kretschmann-configuration Surface Plasmon Resonance setup. This specifically targets cells of refractive index in a known desired range, activating only when the target species comes in contact with the metal film and only while possessing the correct refractive index. Depending on the desired application, this can then denature the thin cell membrane, while also generating isotropically scattered transmission light from the radiatively-decaying plasmon, which is useful for signalling. Furthermore, with simple laser intensity, selective cellular necrosis may be induced. We apply the technique specifically towards the Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells.