PhD in Biomolecule Detection with Inverse-Designed Plasmonic Metasurfaces

In this PhD project at VU Amsterdam, you will develop inverse-designed plasmonic metasurfaces for biomolecular sensing, combining nanophotonics, nanofabrication, and optical characterization.

PhD in Biomolecule Detection with Inverse-Designed Plasmonic Metasurfaces

Your function

Sensitive detection of biomolecular interactions is essential for applications ranging from medical diagnostics to environmental monitoring. In this PhD project, you will develop inverse-designed plasmonic metasurfaces for biomolecular sensing, combining nanophotonics, nanofabrication, and optical characterization. The goal is to create compact optical sensors capable of detecting molecular binding events with high sensitivity using simple optical components such as LEDs, photodiodes, or cameras.

This PhD project is part of the BIND project (Biomolecule Detection with INverse-Designed Plasmonic Metasurfaces) and aims to develop compact and low-cost alternatives to conventional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. The project will exploit plasmonic metasurfaces, periodic arrays of metallic nanoparticles whose optical resonances are highly sensitive to changes in the local refractive index induced by molecular binding. A key novelty of the project is the use of inverse design algorithms to optimize the geometry of nanoparticle arrays for maximal sensing performance, guiding their cleanroom fabrication.

The project is a collaboration between the group of dr. Andrea Baldi (Physics and Astronomy, VU Amsterdam) and the group of dr. Jeroen Kool (Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, VU Amsterdam), combining expertise in nanophotonics, nanofabrication, and biochemical sensing.

As a successful PhD applicant, you will:

• apply inverse design algorithms to optimize plasmonic metasurfaces for biomolecular sensing by coupling optimization algorithms to numerical electromagnetic simulations (e.g., FDTD)
• fabricate the optimized periodic arrays of gold nanoparticles using electron-beam lithography in the AMOLF NanoLab Amsterdam cleanroom
• characterize the optical properties of the metasurfaces and build compact optical sensing setups based on spectroscopy, monochromatic detection, or imaging
• study how molecular binding events modify the optical response of the metasurfaces and evaluate their performance as biosensors
• collaborate with the postdoctoral researcher in the project, who will develop the inverse-design optimization framework, and with researchers in the Kool group, who will functionalize the metasurfaces with antibody–antigen systems and benchmark their performance against conventional SPR instruments
• disseminate your research through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences
• supervise bachelor and master students and contribute as a teaching assistant to courses in the department (~15% of the PhD trajectory)

Your profile

• you have a recent master’s degree in physics, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, or a closely related field
• experience in the following areas can be an advantage: nanophotonics or plasmonics, electromagnetic simulations (e.g. FDTD, COMSOL), nanofabrication or cleanroom techniques, optical spectroscopy or microscopy, programming (e.g., Python, Matlab)
• excellent verbal and written communication skills in English are essential
• curiosity, creativity, and kindness are also highly valued in our group

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world.

About us

About the PhotoConversion Materials (PCM) section

The successful applicant will be appointed as a PhD student in the group of dr. Andrea Baldi, which is part of the PhotoConversion Materials (PCM) section in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. The PCM section is a highly interdisciplinary team, working at the interface of physics, chemistry, and materials science to understand fundamental mechanisms of light-matter interaction for light-energy conversion and optical sensing. We host in-house simulation, fabrication, and spectroscopic characterization tools, with great technical research support. Additionally, we have regular access to the nanofabrication and nanocharacterization tools at the AMOLF Nanolab.

About the Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at VU Amsterdam offers an active and engaged intellectual community composed of researchers from around the world. Research is focused on four themes: (i) high-energy and gravitational physics, (ii) quantum metrology and laser applications, (iii) physics of life and health, and (iv) physics of photosynthesis and energy.

About the Faculty of Science

Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

References

[1] Nugroho, F. A. A.; Bai, P.; Darmadi, I.; Castellanos, G. W.; Fritzsche, J.; Langhammer, C.; Gómez Rivas, J.; Baldi, A. Inverse Designed Plasmonic Metasurface with Parts-per-Billion Optical Hydrogen Detection. Nature Communications 2022, 13, 573

[2] Kravets, V. G.; Kabashin, A. V.; Barnes, W. L.; Grigorenko, A. N. Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances: A Review of Properties and Applications. Chemical Reviews 2018, 118, 5912–5951

[3] Di Santo, R.; Verdelli, F.; Niccolini, B.; Varca, S.; Gaudio, A. D.; Di Giacinto, F.; De Spirito, M.; Pea, M.; Giovine, E.; Notargiacomo, A.; Ortolani, M.; Di Gaspare, A.; Baldi, A.; Pizzolante, F.; Ciasca, G. Exploring Novel Circulating Biomarkers for Liver Cancer through Extracellular Vesicle Characterization with Infrared Spectroscopy and Plasmonics. Analytica Chimica Acta 2024, 1319, 342959

[4] Li, Z.; Prasad, C. S.; Wang, X.; Zhang, D.; Lach, R.; Naik, G. V. Balancing Detectivity and Sensitivity of Plasmonic Sensors with Surface Lattice Resonance. Nanophotonics 2023, 12, 3721–3727