Shunsheng Ye,Hongyu Wang,Hongyang Su,Lingxia Chang,Shuli Wang,Xuemin Zhang,Junhu Zhang,Bai Yang
A facile strategy is reported for the electrostatic self-assembly of homogeneous and gradient plasmonic nanoparticle arrays with tunable interparticle distances and optical properties. The interparticle distance is dominated by the surface charge density of the substrate, which is tuned via thermal annealing according to the temperature-dependent molecular mobility of the polymer. Oxygen plasma is employed to endow neutral polystyrene (PS) films with sufficient charges, enabling subsequent electrostatic adsorption. The density of surface charges can be readily tuned via a thermal annealing step after plasma treatment, which is confirmed by quantitative analyses of oxygen and nitrogen using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Afterwards, PS films with regulated charge densities reshape the double layers around nanoparticles to various degrees during the assembly, leading to tunable interparticle separations. UV-Vis spectroscopy reveals tunable plasmonic properties owing to the critical role of interparticle separation in plasmon coupling. Here such structures are demonstrated to act as wavelength-selective substrates for multiplexed acquisition of surface enhanced Raman scattering. Alternatively, by applying a temperature gradient in the annealing step, we create a macroscopic surface with a continuous gradient in plasmonic properties. Such a “plasmonic library” can be a promising material for fast screening of interparticle distance or extinction spectrum in specific applications on one single substrate.
A microfluidic gradient array is a widely used screening and analysis device, which has characteristics of high efficiency, high automation, and low consumption. Bipolar electrode electrochemiluminescence (BPE-ECL) has special value in microfluidic array chips. The combination of the microfluidic gradient and BPE arrays has potential for high-throughput screening. In this article, a microfluidic BPE array chip for gradient culture and conditional screening of cancer cells was designed. The generation of concentration gradients, continuous culture of cancer cells with high throughput, and drug screening through BPE-ECL of the Ru(bpy)32+/TPrA system can be performed in one chip. We tested gradient pro-oxidation of MCF-7 by ascorbic acid and the synergistic effect of pro-oxidation on doxorubicin. The method achieves high analysis efficiency through a BPE array while simplifying the tedious procedures required by cell culture methods.