DNA-Based Chiral Composites with Enhancement of Chirooptic and NLO Effects for NIMS Applications
Abstract
In March 2008 we started a new research program on enhancement of chirooptic and nonlinear optical properties in composites based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) derived from marine sources (salmon roe). During the first half-year period of the project we worked on preparation and characterization of the hybrid composites that utilize DNA as a chiral template for assembling non-chiral organic conjugated molecules and noble metal nanoparticles. This combination could potentially lead to a system with a negative index of refraction at visible frequencies. The aim is to realize useful negative index materials (NIM) where the negative index is the result of negative bulk permittivity epsilon and permeability micron in the UV-VIS-IR range. We expect that - Negative index can occur in the spectral range of strong electronic absorption resonances due to dopants where abnormal dispersion occurs - negative effective index can be found in an optically active (chiral) medium using a chiral route, in which one of the circularly polarized modes is forced to propagate with a negative value of the effective index Our objective was to achieve a new optical material with enhanced chirality and optical nonlinearities through combining helical arrangement of nucleotides in DNA double helix with high polarizability of chromophores such as organic dyes and the pi-electron conjugated polymer chains.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 24, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA511515
Entities
People
- Anna Samoc
- Marek Samoć
Organizations
- Australian National University