Bright future for nano-sized li...( onfirming that the nanowire was the pre...)

The work shows that we can create and operate coherent bio-friendly nanoscale light sources in liquid environments and use them for subwavelength imaging, said Yang. The next direction we would like to push is single cell endoscopy, in which we use these nanoscale light source and subwavelength waveguides to do high resolution imaging inside the individual cell. The ability to monitor processes within living cells should greatly improve our fundamental understanding of cell functions, intracellular physiological processes, and cellular signal pathways.

Yang and Liphardt caution that the nanowire light source technology is at a very early stage of development. Liphardt compares it to where atomic force microscopy was some 10 years ago. He also says that this technology is not intended to replace existing microscopy technologies, but will enable researchers to do things that cannot be done with current technology.

Still, this nanowire light source technology, if developed to its full potential, could yield an embarrassment of riches in new knowledge, Liphardt said.

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Contact: Lynn Yarris
lcyarris@lbl.gov
510-486-5375
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
28-Jun-2007