State-of-the-art plasmonic crystals for molecules fluorescence detection

We propose a method of measuring low concentrations of fluorescent molecules located in a small volume of a liquid solvent (about 5 μl) based on the Ebbesen effect of the extraordinary transmission (EOT) of light through a state-of-the-art plasmonic crystal formed by a nanohole array perforated in the ultra-high-quality Ag film. In the method, the EOT effect is realized at the fluorescence wavelength of the detected molecules with a low transmission of light at the absorption wavelength. This approach enables the realization of high level sensor sensitivity approaching a sensitivity level of single molecules counting sensors, owing to the suppression of the sensor substrate's inevitable parasitic luminescence. The proposed method was successfully demonstrated by detection an ultra-low concentration of Cy-5 fluorescent markers in a dimethyl sulfoxide solution corresponding to less than 1000 molecules in the sensor detection volume.