The central physical phenomenon described in this paper is the optical generation of surface plasmon polaritons within different kinds of nanostructures. It determines the local enhancement of the incident and scattered electromagnetic field by nearby molecules. The paper reviews different plasmonic devices whose design and spatial arrangement offer an optimal detection level of biomolecules when combined with Raman spectroscopy or hot electrons imaging. Recent results, obtained by the authors, demonstrated that it is possible to reach an analytical sensitivity in the attomolar concentration range, with an analytical specificity to solve complex peptide mixtures characterized by single point mutation in cancer detection experiments. In a different context, exploiting the adiabatic compression phenomenon, we have reported the possibility to generate both light and hot electrons sources in a localized area of few nanometers. Their energy control and accurate spatial localization allow the investigation of matter with unprecedented accuracy and richness of information.

中文翻译：

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等离子纳米结构用于生物分子的超灵敏检测

本文描述的主要物理现象是不同种类的纳米结构中表面等离激元极化子的光学生成。它确定附近分子对入射和散射电磁场的局部增强。本文回顾了与拉曼光谱或热电子成像结合使用时，其设计和空间排列可提供最佳生物分子检测水平的等离子设备。作者获得的最新结果表明，有可能在大分子浓度范围内达到分析灵敏度，并具有解决癌症检测实验中以单点突变为特征的复杂肽混合物的分析特异性。在不同的背景下，利用绝热压缩现象，我们已经报道了在几纳米的局部区域产生光电子源和热电子源的可能性。它们的能量控制和精确的空间定位使人们能够以前所未有的准确性和丰富的信息对物质进行调查。