Highly Efficient On-Chip Photothermal Cell Lysis for Nucleic Acid Extraction Using Localized Plasmonic Heating of Strongly Absorbing Au Nanoislands

Abstract

Cell lysis serves as an essential role in the sample preparation for intracellular material extraction in lab-on-a-chip applications. However, recent microfluidic-based cell lysis chips still face several technical challenges such as reagent removal, complex design, and high fabrication cost. Here, we report highly efficient on-chip photothermal cell lysis for nucleic acid extraction using strongly absorbed plasmonic Au nanoislands (SAP-AuNIs). The highly efficient photothermal cell lysis chip (HEPCL chip) consists of a PDMS microfluidic chamber and densely distributed SAP-AuNIs with large diameters and small nanogaps, allowing for broad-spectrum light absorption. The SAP-AuNIs induce photothermal heat, resulting in a uniform temperature distribution within the chamber and rapidly reaching the target temperature for cell lysis within 30 s. Furthermore, the localized plasmonic heating of SAP-AuNIs expeditiously triggers phase transition and photoporation in the directly contacted lipid bilayer of the cell membrane, resulting in rapid and highly efficient cell lysis. The HEPCL chip successfully lysed 93% of PC9 cells at 90 °C for 90 s without nucleic acid degradation. This on-chip cell lysis offers a new sample preparation platform for integrated point-of-care molecular diagnostics.

Plasmon-enhanced optoacoustic transducer with Ecoflex thin film for broadband ultrasound generation using overdriven pulsed laser diode

“…31 Recently, plasmonic nanostructures with localized surface plasmon resonance have been employed in optoacoustic transducers, thanks to the plasmonic photothermal effect as well as ultrathin thickness. [32][33][34] Electromagnetic hotspots between two-dimensional or three-dimensional nanostructures significantly enhance the optoacoustic amplitude. 35,36 For example, threedimensional Ag nanostructures significantly enhance the optoacoustic amplitude by more than 20 times compared to a polymeric substrate without plasmonic structures.…”