New technology allows more precise view of the smallest nanoparticles

Science Daily  November 16, 2020
Researchers at the University of Houston have developed a new imaging technology called PANORAMA (PlAsmonic NanO-apeRture lAbel-free iMAging) which uniquely relies on unscattered light to detect sub-100 nm dielectric nanoparticles. It provides diffraction-limited resolution, higher surface sensitivity, and wide-field imaging with dense spatial sampling. Its system is identical to a standard bright-field microscope with a lamp and a camera – no laser or interferometry is needed. In a parallel fashion, PANORAMA can detect, count and size individual dielectric nanoparticles beyond 25 nm, and dynamically monitor their distance to the plasmonic surface at millisecond timescale. The invention facilitates the study of viruses and other structures at the molecular level…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE 

IR vs. nanoparticle diameter via PANORAMA (black squares) and by bright-field microscopy (red circles). Credit: Nature Communications volume 11, Article number: 5805 (2020)