Messen und Termine

Prof. Dr. Dirk Bouwmeester (Leiden University, The Netherlands University of California Santa Barbara, USA) hält heute am Fraunhofer ISC einen Vortrag über »DNA-Nanophotonics«.

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Der Vortrag ist kostenlos.

Abstract:

Single stranded DNA can stabilize fluorescent silver clusters of 5 to 20 atoms. The DNA base sequence determines the size and shape of the clusters. This in turn determines the optical properties, such as the wavelength, the intensity and even the polarization. The optical properties of Ag:DNA are so sensitive that also a change in environmental conditions can be detected by analyzing the fluorescence. The binding strength of the silver atoms to the DNA also varies with the DNA host and some DNA constructs "leak out" silver inside cells while other constructs are stable. Since silver atoms in general interfere destructively with the functionality of RNA this can leads to tunable toxicity. There is a wide range of potential applications in medicine and biology. Furthermore one can make arbitrary constructs of arrays of optical emitters using DNA origami with precise positioning of fluorescent Ag:DNA strands. Such constructs might be used for making conducting DNA based networks and arrays of interacting emitters. The individual Ag:DNA are shown to act as single photon emitters. A detailed quantum description of the Ag:DNA constructs is however still missing but would be highly desirable for further exploring the potential of Ag:DNA origami based quantum systems.