RESEARCH FOCUS

Micro / Nano / Bio
Transducer Science &
Interfaces Laboratory

Advancing the science of active-solid interfaces for vibrating nanoscale transducers and bio-interfacing technologies.


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Advanced Nanotechnology Research Laboratory



Laboratory Director

Advanced Nanotechnology Research

We advance the science of active-solid interfaces for vibrating nanoscale transducers, leveraging Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) and Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) platforms to understand and guide interactions with biological systems.

Research Focus Areas

Plasmonic Transduction

Bio/chemical recognition events via Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) with precision nanofabrication and surface chemistry integration.

QCM-D Characterization

Advanced characterization of bio/chemical interfacial assemblies using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring.

Biointerface Engineering

Surface functionalization and biointerface engineering with microfluidics, electrochemistry, and live-cell assays.

Research Demonstrations

Nanocube Technology

Magneto-Plasmonic Interactions

LSPR-Driven Self Assembly

Acoustic Signatures

Pantoea sp. YR343 Fingerprint

Mutated Signature Analysis

Latest Publications

Breathing currents between large gapped LSPR nanoparticles published in Nano Letters
Nanoparticle sensor work supported by Going Global Partnerships Program published in Nanotechnology
Advanced biointerface characterization techniques published in leading journals

Laboratory Overview

Nanoparticle Research

Nanoparticle synthesis and characterization

LSPR Analysis

LSPR spectroscopy setup

QCM-D Analysis

QCM-D measurement system

Biointerface Lab

Biointerface engineering facility



Research Highlights

Novel Equations Developed Across
Selected Publications

Concise, website-ready summaries of original analytical and predictive models

Six publications  |  One verified equation from each  |  Plain-language impact statement

1. Unraveling the Liquid Gliding on Vibrating Solid–Liquid Interfaces with Dynamic Nanoslip Enactment
Payam et al., Nature Communications 13, 6608 (2022)  • 
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34319-0
Equation (4)
\[ rac{b}{\delta} = rac{(1+i)igl[Z^{L_s} – Z^{L_{ns}} – i\omega arrho_f \ell_aigr]}{2igl[Z^{L_{ns}} + i\omega arrho_f \ell_aigr]} \]

One-line summary. This dynamic-nanoslip model extracts the normalized slip length from QCM load impedance while explicitly including interfacial liquid inertia.
Key terms. b, slip length; δ, viscous penetration depth; ZLs and ZLns, load impedances with slip and no slip; ω, angular frequency; ϱf, fluid density; ℓa, interfacial inertia length.

2. Ion-Induced Hydrophilic Switching Enables Nanostructure Morphology Control for Superior Nanoplasmonic Sensing
Bhalla et al., ACS Nano (2023)  • 
Add DOI link here
Equation (2)
\[ \Delta\lambda = m \cdot \Delta n \cdot \left(1 – e^{-2d/l_d}
ight) \]

One-line summary. This LSPR sensitivity model relates the plasmonic wavelength shift to the local refractive-index change and the evanescent decay length.
Key terms. Δλ, wavelength shift; m, sensitivity factor; Δn, refractive index change; d, analyte layer thickness; ld, evanescent field decay length.