Alessandro Alabastri

High-performance and site-directed in utero electroporation by a triple-electrode probe

In utero electroporation is a powerful tool to transfect and manipulate neural-precursor cells of the rodent parietal cortex and their progeny in vivo. Although this technique can potentially target numerous brain areas, reliability of transfection in some brain regions is low or physical access is limited. Here, we present a new in utero-electroporation configuration based on the use of three electrodes, the relative position and polarities of which can be adjusted. The technique allows easy access and exceedingly reliable monolateral or bilateral transfection at brain locations that could only be sporadically targeted before. By improvement in the efficiency of the electrical field distribution, demonstrated here by a mathematical simulation, the multi-electrode configuration also extends the developmental timeframe for reliable in utero electroporation, allowing for the first time specific transfection of Purkinje cells in the rat cerebellum.

Molding of Plasmonic Resonances in Metallic Nanostructures: Dependence of the Non-Linear Electric Permittivity on System Size and Temperature

In this paper, we review the principal theoretical models through which the dielectric function of metals can be described. Starting from the Drude assumptions for intraband transitions, we show how this model can be improved by including interband absorption and temperature effect in the damping coefficients. Electronic scattering processes are described and included in the dielectric function, showing their role in determining plasmon lifetime at resonance. Relationships among permittivity, electric conductivity and refractive index are examined. Finally, a temperature dependent permittivity model is presented and is employed to predict temperature and non-linear field intensity dependence on commonly used plasmonic geometries, such as nanospheres.

Plasmon based biosensor for distinguishing different peptides mutation states

Periodic and reproducible gold nanocuboids with various matrix dimensions and with different inter-particle gaps were fabricated by means of top-down technique. Rhodamine 6G was used as a probe molecule to optimize the design and the fabrication of the cuboid nanostructures. The electric field distribution for the nanocuboids with varying matrix dimensions/inter-particle gap was also investigated. These SERS devices were employed as biosensors through the investigation of both myoglobin and wild/mutated peptides. The results demonstrate the probing and the screening of wild/mutated BRCA1 peptides, thus opening a path for the fabrication of simple and cheap SERS device capable of early detection of several diseases.

Surface plasmon polariton compression through radially and linearly polarized source

We report on the possibility of realizing a radial mode on a metallic conical structure by means of a linearly polarized incident wave. This result is utilized for observing surface plasmon polaritons adiabatic compression on a tapered conical nanostructure. The ingredients for radial mode generation are described in terms of phase-matching of the components of the electromagnetic field. We conclude by showing the robustness of this approach, explaining the polaritonic behavior as a function of the device geometry.

Nanophotonics-enabled solar membrane distillation for off-grid water purification

Significance Current desalination technologies provide solutions to the increasing water demands of the planet but require substantial electric energy, limiting their sustainable use where conventional power infrastructure may be unavailable. Here, we report a direct solar method for desalination that utilizes nanoparticle-assisted solar vaporization in a membrane distillation geometry. This scalable process is capable of providing sufficient clean water for family use in a compact footprint, potentially for off-grid desalination at remote locations. With more than a billion people lacking accessible drinking water, there is a critical need to convert nonpotable sources such as seawater to water suitable for human use. However, energy requirements of desalination plants account for half their operating costs, so alternative, lower energy approaches are equally critical. Membrane distillation (MD) has shown potential due to its low operating temperature and pressure requirements, but the requirement of heating the input water makes it energy intensive. Here, we demonstrate nanophotonics-enabled solar membrane distillation (NESMD), where highly localized photothermal heating induced by solar illumination alone drives the distillation process, entirely eliminating the requirement of heating the input water. Unlike MD, NESMD can be scaled to larger systems and shows increased efficiencies with decreased input flow velocities. Along with its increased efficiency at higher ambient temperatures, these properties all point to NESMD as a promising solution for household- or community-scale desalination.

3D vertical nanostructures for enhanced infrared plasmonics

The exploitation of surface plasmon polaritons has been mostly limited to the visible and near infrared range, due to the low frequency limit for coherent plasmon excitation and the reduction of confinement on the metal surface for lower energies. In this work we show that 3D - out of plane - nanostructures can considerably increase the intrinsic quality of the optical output, light confinement and electric field enhancement factors, also in the near and mid-infrared. We suggest that the physical principle relies on the combination of far field and near field interactions between neighboring antennas, promoted by the 3D out-of-plane geometry. We first analyze the changes in the optical behavior, which occur when passing from a single on-plane nanostructure to a 3D out-of-plane configuration. Then we show that by arranging the nanostructures in periodic arrays, 3D architectures can provide, in the mid-IR, a much stronger plasmonic response, compared to that achievable with the use of 2D configurations, leading to higher energy harvesting properties and improved Q-factors, with bright perspective up to the terahertz range.

Direct Synthesis of Carbon-Doped TiO2–Bronze Nanowires as Anode Materials for High Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Carbon-doped TiO2-bronze nanowires were synthesized via a facile doping mechanism and were exploited as active material for Li-ion batteries. We demonstrate that both the wire geometry and the presence of carbon doping contribute to the high electrochemical performance of these materials. Direct carbon doping for example reduces the Li-ion diffusion length and improves the electrical conductivity of the wires, as demonstrated by cycling experiments, which evidenced remarkably higher capacities and superior rate capability over the undoped nanowires. The as-prepared carbon-doped nanowires, evaluated in lithium half-cells, exhibited lithium storage capacity of ∼306 mA h g(-1) (91% of the theoretical capacity) at the current rate of 0.1C as well as excellent discharge capacity of ∼160 mAh g(-1) even at the current rate of 10 C after 1000 charge/discharge cycles.

Plasmon-induced selective carbon dioxide conversion on earth-abundant aluminum-cuprous oxide antenna-reactor nanoparticles

The rational combination of plasmonic nanoantennas with active transition metal-based catalysts, known as ‘antenna-reactor’ nanostructures, holds promise to expand the scope of chemical reactions possible with plasmonic photocatalysis. Here, we report earth-abundant embedded aluminum in cuprous oxide antenna-reactor heterostructures that operate more effectively and selectively for the reverse water-gas shift reaction under milder illumination than in conventional thermal conditions. Through rigorous comparison of the spatial temperature profile, optical absorption, and integrated electric field enhancement of the catalyst, we have been able to distinguish between competing photothermal and hot-carrier driven mechanistic pathways. The antenna-reactor geometry efficiently harnesses the plasmon resonance of aluminum to supply energetic hot-carriers and increases optical absorption in cuprous oxide for selective carbon dioxide conversion to carbon monoxide with visible light. The transition from noble metals to aluminum based antenna-reactor heterostructures in plasmonic photocatalysis provides a sustainable route to high-value chemicals and reaffirms the practical potential of plasmon-mediated chemical transformations.Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis holds promise for the control of chemical reactions. Here the authors report an Al@Cu2O heterostructure based on earth abundant materials to transform CO2 into CO at significantly milder conditions.

Extraordinary Light-Induced Local Angular Momentum near Metallic Nanoparticles.

The intense local field induced near metallic nanostructures provides strong enhancements for surface-enhanced spectroscopies, a major focus of plasmonics research over the past decade. Here we consider that plasmonic nanoparticles can also induce remarkably large electromagnetic field gradients near their surfaces. Sizeable field gradients can excite dipole-forbidden transitions in nearby atoms or molecules and provide unique spectroscopic fingerprinting for chemical and bimolecular sensing. Specifically, we investigate how the local field gradients near metallic nanostructures depend on geometry, polarization, and wavelength. We introduce the concept of the local angular momentum (LAM) vector as a useful figure of merit for the design of nanostructures that provide large field gradients. This quantity, based on integrated fields rather than field gradients, is particularly well-suited for optimization using numerical grid-based full wave electromagnetic simulations. The LAM vector has a more compact structure than the gradient matrix and can be straightforwardly associated with the angular momentum of the electromagnetic field incident on the plasmonic structures.

Broadband absorption enhancement in plasmonic nanoshells-based ultrathin microcrystalline-Si solar cells.

With the objective to conceive a plasmonic solar cell with enhanced photocurrent, we investigate the role of plasmonic nanoshells, embedded within a ultrathin microcrystalline silicon solar cell, in enhancing broadband light trapping capability of the cell and, at the same time, to reduce the parasitic loss. The thickness of the considered microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) layer is only ~1/6 of conventional μc-Si based solar cells while the plasmonic nanoshells are formed by a combination of silica and gold, respectively core and shell. We analyze the cell optical response by varying both the geometrical and optical parameters of the overall device. In particular, the nanoshells core radius and metal thickness, the periodicity, the incident angle of the solar radiation and its wavelength are varied in the widest meaningful ranges. We further explain the reason for the absorption enhancement by calculating the electric field distribution associated to resonances of the device. We argue that both Fabry-Pérot-like and localized plasmon modes play an important role in this regard.