Role of bio-nanotemplates on the lasing behavior of LDS 821 dye

•We studied the lasing studies of near infrared laser dye LDS 821 on bio-templates.•Low threshold and high gain is observed when the dye is embedded on biomolecules.•The mode of lasing can be control by bio-templates.•Cavity mode lasing is observed from the dye on DNA-CTMA.•Random lasing behavior of the dye is observed on lysozyme amyloid fibrils. The inferences obtained from a brief investigation on the lasing characteristics of near infrared hemicyanine laser dye LDS 821 in different bio-nanotemplates are reported here. Solution state lasing behavior of LDS 821 in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - surfactant complex and in lysozyme amyloid fibrils are studied. Equally spaced well resolved resonant modes are observed for LDS 821 dye in DNA-surfactant complex at a very low pump power as compared to dye alone sample under similar conditions. The lasing threshold of the dye could be further decreased on incorporation with lysozyme amyloid fibrils. The lasing spectrums of the dye in lysozyme amyloid fibrils at different pump powers are irregular in shape due to random lasing. Studies show that DNA-CTMA and lysozyme amyloid fibrils can be used as a potential bio-nanotemplate for the fabrication of biolasers.