Efficient and reversible chirality induction between protein and achiral plasmonic assemblies
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Chiral molecules in nature usually show optical activity only in the deep ultraviolet, whereas artificial chiral plasmonic nanostructures can generate much stronger responses at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. An important challenge is whether the abundant biomolecular chirality in nature can be directly transferred to achiral plasmonic systems without elaborate three-dimensional nanofabrication. Here we show that the mechanical stretching of protein molecules anchored within achiral gold nanoparticle assemblies strongly enhances and reversibly modulates plasmon-coupled circular dichroism. Stretching amplifies the chiroptical response to an ellipticity of 1.18° and a dissymmetry factor of 0.2, far exceeding conventional hotspot-based strategies. Repeated stretching and relaxation further enable reversible switching over more than 100 cycles. Simulations and in situ spectroscopy indicate that the deformation of protein changes its conformation and dipole alignment, thereby strengthening the plasmonic chiral response. These findings establish a route to achieve dynamically controllable chiroptical activity in achiral plasmonic assemblies, revealing how small biomolecular deformations can strongly influence plasmonic responses of much larger nanostructures.
Source: Nature Materials
Authors: Ziwei Zhou, Ningwei Sun, Nina Tverdokhleb, Artur Movsesyan, Anja Maria Steiner, Patrick T. Probst, Vaibhav Gupta, Bo Yin, Nicolás Pazos-Peréz, Ramón A. Álvarez-Puebla, Mirjam Taube, Martin Müller, Holger Merlitz, Olga Guskova, Yaroslava G. Yingling, Franziska S. -C. Lissel, Tobias A. F. König, Zhiming Wang, Alexander O. Govorov, Nicholas A. Kotov, Andreas Fery
Institutions: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science, Technische Universität Dresden, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Aix-Marseille Université, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille, Kobe University, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, North Carolina State University, Hamburg University of Technology, Ohio University, University of Michigan, Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Funders: National Science Foundation, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Banco Santander, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Volkswagen Foundation, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Technische Universität Dresden, Lietuvos Mokslo Taryba, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Elitenetzwerk Bayern, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council
Awards: G1006427807, CBET-EPSRC CHIROPTICAL SECOND-HARMONIC SCATTERING OF NANOSTRUCTURES AND THEIR BIOCOMPLEXES, LaSensa, G169641040, G245391990, G2486858667, G2719847642, G2948577148, G3452975744, G3687079635, G3781458612, Chirale Katalyse mit plasmonischen Hybridnanopartikeln, G6438965579, G6599315429, Energy Storage in Molecules, GRK 2767: Suprakolloidale Strukturen: Von Materialien zu optischen und elektronischen Bauteilen, LOCK-AND-KEY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CHIRAL NANOPARTICLES AND PROTEINS, G8046721953
OpenAlex ID: W7154529387