Opto-mechanical manipulation of chemical reactions on the nanoscale with optofluidic nanotweezers

摘要

Chemical reactions are often described as a progression along a reaction coordinate. Waveguide evanescent fields generate an electromagnetic force that spans tens of nanometers and have been used previously to trap protein molecules. Applying this force along a reaction coordinate could radically alter the chemical reaction by modifying the activation energy or biasing the reaction towards a specific pathway. Here, we show that the adsorption of proteins onto carbon nanotubes can be controlled with opto-mechanical forces. An analytic model for the reaction was developed, the predictions of which were explored by probing the energy barrier under various experimental conditions.