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Confinement of light into small volumes has become an essential requirement for photonic devices; examples of this trend are provided by optical fibers, integrated optical circuits, semiconductor lasers, and photonic crystals. Optical dielectric resonators supporting Whispering Gallery Modes (WGMs) represent another class of cavity devices with exceptional properties, like extremely small mode volume, very high power density, and very narrow spectral linewidth. WGMs are now known since more than 100 years, after the papers published by John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh), but their importance as unique tools to study nonlinear optical phenomena or quantum electrodynamics, and for application to very lowthreshold microlasers as well as very sensitive microsensors, has been recognized only in recent years.

Microresonators for sensing

  • G. Nunzi Conti, S. Berneschi, A. Barucci, F. Cosi, S. Soria, C. Trono, Fiber ring laser for intracavity sensing using a Whispering Gallery Mode resonator, Opt. Lett. 37, 2697-2699 (2012). Featured at SPIE Newsroom 
  • L. Pasquardini, S. Berneschi, A. Barucci, F. Cosi, R. Dallpiccola, L. Lunelli, G. Nunzi Conti, C. Pederzolli, and S. Soria, “Whispering Gallery Modes Aptasensors for detection of blood proteins”, J. Biophotonics 1–10 (2012) / DOI 10.1002/jbio.201200013
  • S. Berneschi, D. Farnesi, F. Cosi, G. Nunzi Conti, S. Pelli, G.C. Righini, S. Soria, “High Q silica microbubble resonators fabricated by arc discharge”, Opt. Lett., vol. 36, pp. 3521-3523 (2011).
  • S. Soria, S. Berneschi, M. Brenci, F. Cosi, G. Nunzi Conti, S. Pelli, G.C. Righini, “Optical Microspherical Resonators for Biomedical Sensing”, Sensors, vol. 11, pp. 785‑805 (2011).
  • G.C. Righini, Y. Duimenge, P. Feron, M. Ferrari, G. Nunzi Conti, D. Ristic and S. Soria, “Whispering Gallery mode microresonators: fundamentals and applications”, Rivista del Nuovo Cimento, 34 (7) 435-488 (2011).
  • A. Chiasera, Y. Dumeige, P. Féron, M. Ferrari, Y. Jestin, G. Nunzi Conti, S. Pelli, S. Soria, G.C. Righini, “Spherical whispering-gallery-mode microresonators”, Laser & Photonics Reviews, vol. 4, pp. 457‑482 (2010).
  • Optical Microcavities for antibiotics and steroids detection, in collaboration with Prof. Pilar Marco (Applied Molecular Receptors group (AMRg), IQAC-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034-Barcelona, Spain), Bilateral Project CNR-CSIC.

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Fiber optical Nanotips for SNOM/AFM and biological applications

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Optical sensors have a large impact in the fields of life science research, drug discovery and medical diagnostics. The recent advances in nanotechnology and photonics have led to a new generation of nanotools, capable of probing even the single cell: it has already been demonstrated that nanobiosensors can detect biochemical targets and proteins inside living single cells.

We are able to fabricate nanoprobes consisting of tapered, metal-coated optical fibers having nanosize tips, such as those which were originally developed for use in near-field optical microscopy.

Publications:

A. Barucci, S. Berneschi, F. Cosi, G. Nunzi Conti, S. Pelli, F. Quercioli, S. Soria and G.C. Righini, “Fiber optic nanoprobes for biological sensing", invited paper, Proc. SPIE 8011, 80118X (2011), http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.902801

A. Giannetti, A. Barucci, S. Tombelli, C. Trono, F. Cosi, G. Righini, S. Pelli, F. Baldini, “Survivin mRNA detection by means of Optical Fiber Nanotips coated wuth Molecular Beacons”, SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing 2013, 15 – 18 April, Prague, Czech Republic

A. Giannetti, A. Barucci, S. Tombelli, C. Trono, F. Cosi, G. Righini, S. Pelli, F. Baldini, “Optical fiber nanotips coated with molecular beacons for mRNA detection in cells”, SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing 2013, 29 April – 3 May, Baltimore, USA

A. Giannetti, A. Barucci, S. Tombelli, F. Cosi, G. Righini, S. Pelli, F. Baldini, “Oligonucleotides Switches Coupled to Optical Fiber Nanotips for mRNA Detection in Cells", MAf 13, 13th Conference on Methods and Applications of Fluorescence, 8-11 September 2013, Genova (Italy)

A. Giannetti, A. Barucci, S. Tombelli, F. Cosi, G. Righini, S. Pelli, F. Baldini, “Optical Fiber Nanotips coated with Molecular Beacons for mRNA Detection in Cells", Secondo Workshop del Gruppo Biosensori Ottici e Biofotonica della Società Italiana di Ottica e Fotonica, Sestri Levante (Genova), 19-20 September 2013