Transient infrared nanoscopy resolves the millisecond photoswitching dynamics of single lipid vesicles in water

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gölz, Thorsten, Baù, Enrico, Zhang, Jinhua, Kaltenecker, Korbinian, Trauner, Dirk, Maier, Stefan A., Keilmann, Fritz, Lohmüller, Theobald, Tittl, Andreas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Gölz, Thorsten
Baù, Enrico
Zhang, Jinhua
Kaltenecker, Korbinian
Trauner, Dirk
Maier, Stefan A.
Keilmann, Fritz
Lohmüller, Theobald
Tittl, Andreas
author_facet Gölz, Thorsten
Baù, Enrico
Zhang, Jinhua
Kaltenecker, Korbinian
Trauner, Dirk
Maier, Stefan A.
Keilmann, Fritz
Lohmüller, Theobald
Tittl, Andreas
contents Understanding the biophysical and biochemical properties of molecular nanocarriers under physiological conditions and with minimal interference is crucial for advancing nanomedicine, photopharmacology, drug delivery, nanotheranostics and synthetic biology. Yet, analytical methods struggle to combine precise chemical imaging and measurements without perturbative labeling. This challenge is exemplified for azobenzene-based photoswitchable lipids, which are intriguing reagents for controlling nanocarrier properties on fast timescales, enabling, e.g., precise light-induced drug release processes. Here, we leverage the chemical recognition and high spatio-temporal resolution of scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to demonstrate non-destructive, label-free mid-infrared (MIR) imaging and spectroscopy of photoswitchable liposomes below the diffraction limit and the tracking of their dynamics down to 50 ms resolution. The vesicles are adsorbed on an ultrathin 10-nm SiN membrane, which separates the sample space from the tip space for stable and hour-long observations. By implementing a transient nanoscopy approach, we accurately resolve, for the first time, photoinduced changes in both the shape and the MIR spectral signature of individual vesicles and reveal abrupt change dynamics of the underlying photoisomerization process. Our findings highlight the methods potential for future studies on the complex dynamics of unlabeled nanoscale soft matter, as well as, in a broader context, for host-guest systems, energy materials or drugs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_02513
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Transient infrared nanoscopy resolves the millisecond photoswitching dynamics of single lipid vesicles in water
Gölz, Thorsten
Baù, Enrico
Zhang, Jinhua
Kaltenecker, Korbinian
Trauner, Dirk
Maier, Stefan A.
Keilmann, Fritz
Lohmüller, Theobald
Tittl, Andreas
Optics
Applied Physics
Understanding the biophysical and biochemical properties of molecular nanocarriers under physiological conditions and with minimal interference is crucial for advancing nanomedicine, photopharmacology, drug delivery, nanotheranostics and synthetic biology. Yet, analytical methods struggle to combine precise chemical imaging and measurements without perturbative labeling. This challenge is exemplified for azobenzene-based photoswitchable lipids, which are intriguing reagents for controlling nanocarrier properties on fast timescales, enabling, e.g., precise light-induced drug release processes. Here, we leverage the chemical recognition and high spatio-temporal resolution of scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to demonstrate non-destructive, label-free mid-infrared (MIR) imaging and spectroscopy of photoswitchable liposomes below the diffraction limit and the tracking of their dynamics down to 50 ms resolution. The vesicles are adsorbed on an ultrathin 10-nm SiN membrane, which separates the sample space from the tip space for stable and hour-long observations. By implementing a transient nanoscopy approach, we accurately resolve, for the first time, photoinduced changes in both the shape and the MIR spectral signature of individual vesicles and reveal abrupt change dynamics of the underlying photoisomerization process. Our findings highlight the methods potential for future studies on the complex dynamics of unlabeled nanoscale soft matter, as well as, in a broader context, for host-guest systems, energy materials or drugs.
title Transient infrared nanoscopy resolves the millisecond photoswitching dynamics of single lipid vesicles in water
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.02513