Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the workhorse of current immunodetection. However, ELISA demands multiple steps of sample incubation and washing cycles, which makes the whole process time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Our new Analyst publication “Single-step homogeneous immunoassay for detecting prostate-specific antigen using dual-color light scattering of metal nanoparticles” reports a novel immunoassay technique that is significantly faster and simpler than ELISA, without compromising on the assay sensitivity.

Significance:

- This novel technique performs immunosensing in a single-step in homogeneous phase. No rinsing, no washing are involved. Its operation is remarkably simple: Mix-Incubate-Detect.

- We detect where ELISA is not sensitive enough, down to the sub-picomolar regime while keeping the workflow simple and fast.

- The demonstration of PSA detection is highly relevant for monitoring cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy, when the PSA blood concentration reaches values below the ELISA limit of detection. It is straightforward to implement for point-of-care monitoring of cancer evolution.

Nanoscopic domains (also known as lipid rafts) in living cell membranes have been postulated to play major roles in regulating a large variety of biological functions. However, the underlying basis for their formation remains under heavy debate because their typical sizes and characteristic times are below the resolution of standard microscopes.

In a recent ACS Nano publication entitled Transient Nanoscopic Phase Separation in Biological Lipid Membranes Resolved by Planar Plasmonic Antennas, we report on the application of in-plane plasmonic antenna arrays with different nanogap sizes in combination with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to assess the dynamic nanoscale organization of mimetic biological membranes. Our approach takes advantage of the highly enhanced  and  confined  excitation  light  provided  by  dimer nano-antennas together with their outstanding  planarity to investigate membrane regions as  small as 10 nm in size with microsecond time resolution.

Significance:

- We  show  the  existence  of  transient  nanoscopic  domains  in  both  liquid-order  and  liquid-disorder phases of mimetic biological membranes, featuring characteristic sizes of 10 nm with residence times between 30 µs and 150 µs

- Our planar optical antenna methodology provides nanoscale observation areas with microsecond time resolution and full biocompatibility. This constitutes a significant step forward in our ability to address native biological membranes with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution.

Available on ACS Nano and also on arXiv.

C'est pas l'homme qui prend la manip, c'est la manip qui prend l'homme, tatatin

CORDIS (Community Research and Development Information Service) is a key instrument for effective dissemination and exploitation of EU-funded research results. Our ExtendFRET project was recently selected by the CORDIS Editorial Team to be written about in a "Results in Brief" article, given the exciting results and promising aspects of the project.

Full CORDIS article: Tailoring light-molecule interaction at the nanoscale

Submissions and registrations for the 4th Summer School On Plasmonics (SSOP4) are now open. The school will be held on September 3-8, 2017, in Porquerolles, one of the most beautiful island of the Mediterranean sea. Please find more information at http:www.fresnel.fr/ssop4/

Lectures and tutorials presented by international specialists on plasmonics will cover the following topics:
- Resonant Light scattering by nanoparticles
- Interaction forces between plasmonic nanoparticles
- Hyperbolic Metamaterials, Metasurfaces
- Purcell factor, single photon sources, FRET, fluorescence, strong coupling
- NSOM microscopy
- Spectral filters
- DNA nanotechnologies, plasmonic sensors
- Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy
- Nanofabrication technologies,Ellipsometry and polarimetry

Key arguments for your supervisor: rare advanced lectures on modern plasmonics + excellent quality of invited lecturers +  excellent value for the money, the registration fee covers all accomodation & food expenses.