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A suitably engineered plasmonic metamaterial featuring topologically protected sharp phase variations close to a zero-reflection point of incident lightwaves has now been demonstrated. Exploiting the high sensitivity of the abrupt phase changes, and by using reversible hydrogenation of graphene and binding of streptavidin–biotin, the detection of individual biomolecules and an areal mass sensitivity of the order of fg mm−2 is reported.
The design of open crystalline arrangements of colloidal particles with attractive patches has been hampered by the difficulty in exploring the full range of conceivable parameters both experimentally or with simulations. An analytical theory that explains the role of entropy in stabilizing open colloidal lattices and that predicts the conditions at which stable crystal structures of patchy particles form is now reported.
