Plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and bioimaging

Current Research Topics

Development of optical labels and theranostics agents for therapeutic photodynamic and hyperthermal therapy based on gold nanoparticles
Charge transfer processes between photoactive ligand and plasmonic nanoparticle, study of their mechanisms and role in surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Analytical applications of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Development of materials based on hydroxyapatite doped with metal nanoparticles for biomedicine and environmental engineering
Organic-Inorganic nanocomposites with controlled size and structure for optics and photonics

Collaborations

• Imperial College London, Department of Chemical Engineering, prof. S. Kazarian group
• Sharif University of Technology, Department of Chemistry, prof.  Z. Jamshidi group
• Almazov National Medical Research Centre
• Department of Laser Chemistry and Laser Material Science
• Department of Organic Chemistry

Grants, Scholarships and Awards

Grants and Projects

• SPBU Grant «Laboratory of plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and bioimaging» (within the program «Foundation of Laboratory under leading young scientist leadership») 2022–2024
• RSF Grant 22-73-10052 «Multimodal plasmon tags for bioimaging and therapeutic hyperthermia» 2022-2025
• RFBR Grant  20-33-70034 «Self-organized plasmon structures based on metal nanoparticles and molecular bridges, promising as materials for optics and photonics» 2020–2021
• RSF Grant 17-73-10209 «Development of new organometallic substrates with "hot spots" promising for the use in highly efficient components of nanophotonics»,2017–2019
• Grant SPBU-Sharif University of Technology joint program «Effect of charge transfer in surface-enhanced Raman scattering: experimental and theoretical study» 2020
• Grant from Saint-Petersburg Government «Development of method for express analysis of water-soluble drugs using SERS spectroscopy to quality control» 2020

Students Scholarships and Awards

• Grant U.M.N.I.K «Photonics 2022» (Vasilisa Svinko)
• Youth Prize of Saint-Petersburg for 2021 in the nomination “Science and technology “(Aleksei N. Smirnov)
• The winners in the first competition dedicated to Andrei Pavlenko (Aleksei N. Smirnov, Vasilisa Svinko, Andrey Demenshin, Aleksei A. Smirnov)
• President scholarship for graduate students and young scientists (Aleksei N. Smirnov) 2022–2024
• Grant U.M.N.I.K «Photonics 2020» (Aleksei N. Smirnov)
• Start up SPBU 2020, 2 place (Aleksei N. Smirnov, Olga Odintsova)

Publications

• A.I. Shevchuk, V.O. Svinko, A.N. Smirnov, E.V. Solovyeva, SERS study of cyanine dyes: optimization of metal core and molecular label choice for plasmonic nanotags, Dyes and Pigments 216 (2023) 111329.
• V.O. Svinko, A.N. Smirnov, A.I. Shevchuk, A.I. Demenshin, A.A. Smirnov, E.V. Solovyeva, Comparative study of fluorescence core-shell nanotags with different morphology of gold core, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2023, 226, 113306.
• A.N. Smirnov, S.F. Aslanov, D.V. Danilov, O.Y. Kurapova, E.V. Solovyeva, One-Pot Synthesis of Silica-Coated Gold Nanostructures Loaded with Cyanine 5.5 for Cell Imaging by SERS Spectroscopy, Nanomaterials 13 (2023) 1267.
• E.V. Solovyeva, O.V. Odintsova, V.O. Svinko, D.V. Makeeva, D.V. Danilov, Hydroxyapatite-nanosilver composites with plasmonic properties for application in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, Materials Today Communications 35 (2023) 105908.
• E.V. Solovyeva, Z. Jamshidi, Observation of High-Order Overtones and Combinations in SERRS: The Essential Role on Elucidation of Chemical Mechanism, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 126 (2022) 12038–12043.
• Patent on invention 2774817 «Method for qualitative and quantitative determination of a biologically active substance in water-soluble medical products» issued on 23.06.2022.
• V.O. Svinko, A.I. Shevchuk, A N. Smirnov, D.V. Makeeva, E.V. Solovyeva, Gold nanostars-based labels for surface-enhanced Raman scattering imaging with red medical lasers, Optics and Spectroscopy 130 (2022) 1590–1595.
• E.V. Solovyeva, A.N. Smirnov, V.O. Svinko, A.S. Strelnikov, A.I. Shevchuk, S.G. Kazarian, Unraveling a role of molecular linker in nanoparticles self-organization by SERS spectroscopy: comparative study of three aromatic diamines, Colloids and Surfaces A 645 (2022) 128881.

Conferences

Our group actively participates in scientific conferences, for 2022 and the first half of 2023 we made more than 20 presentations, selected ones are indicated below.

• Russian conference and young scientists school on current problems of Raman spectroscopy "Raman Scattering-95", June 5-9 , 2023 Novosibirsk, Russia , oral and two poster talks (E.V. Solovyeva , A.I. Demenshin, V.O. Svinko);
• VIII International scientific conference of young scientists «Horizons of biopharmaceuticals», May 26, 2023 Kursk, Russia, oral talk (A.N. Smirnov);
• Scientific and practical conference with international participation «Granovsky readings — 2023», April 21-22, 2023 Saint-Petersburg, Russia, oral talk (E.V. Solovyeva)
• XXIX Russian Conference of Young Scientists «Current problems of biomedicine — 2023», March 29-30, 2023 Saint-Petersburg, Russia, oral talk (A.A. Smirnov);
• Young Scientists Congress, December 1-3, 2022 Sochi, oral talk (E.V. Solovyeva);
• The Seventh International Conference on Multifunctional, Hybrid and Nanomaterials , October 19-22, 2022 Jenoa, Italy, two poster talks (E.V. Solovyeva , .O. Svinko);
• VI International conference «Modern synthetic methodologies for the development of drugs and functional materials» (MOSM2022), November 7-11, 2022 Ekaterinburg, Russia, oral talk (A.I. Shevchuk);
• Saratov Fall Meeting 2022, September 26-30, 2022 Saratov, Russia, oral talk (A.N. Smirnov);
• 20th International Conference Laser Optics, June 20-24, 2022 Saint-Petersburg, Russia, oral talk (V.O. Svinko);
• 10th International Conference on Photonics, Optics and Laser Technology, February 10-11 , 2022 Porto, Portugal, oral talk (A.N. Smirnov);

Equipment and Methods

Our group has all the necessary resources for multiple step synthesis of nanoparticles and nanomaterials of inorganic and hybrid nature. Laboratory facilities include the equipment :

• Ultrasonic disperser 950-E (up to 950 W, treated volume of 0.5–600 mL, 1/12, 1/4, 5/12 inch probes)
• Centrifuge MPW-352 (speed up to 18000 rpm, rotors 12×2, 12×7, 6×50 mL)
• Rotary evaporator IKA RV 3 FLEX
• Vacuum drying cabinet SNVS-40/3.5 (temperature up to 350 °С, vacuum up to 1×10⁻⁴ mmHg)
• pH-meter Mettler Toledo S-220-Basic with micro and semi-micro pH electrodes
• Ultrasonic bath Sapphire 2.8 TTC
• Analytical balances, magnetic stirrers, pipettes

Our group has a clean area with a complete set of equipment (incubator, laminar flow cabinet, cell counter, centrifuge, plate spectrophotometer, etc.) necessary for cell culture and primary cell tests.

Applied protocols

• Cell viability assay with molecular compounds and nanoobjects
• Detection of reactive oxygen species in solutions and cell samples
• Detection of oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl assay)
• Antioxidant enzymes activity assays (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase)
• Total antioxidant capacity assays with bioactive compounds and plant extracts (ABTS, DPPH, FRAP)
• Preparation of cell samples for Raman spectroscopy study
• Preparation of cell samples for fluorescence microscopy

Information for students

Bachelor and master students are welcome to work on their term papers and graduation theses. The particular topic will depend on the ongoing research projects of the lab.

Contacts: associate professor Elena Solovyeva, rooms 2088, 2093, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.