Electric-field control of fluorescence protein emissions at the metal-solution interface

Abstract

A variety of physicochemical phenomena exhibited by fluorescence proteins have been utilized to develop many key technologies in life science over the last few decades. Accordingly, the major research focus has been given to their behaviors in the cellular or solution environments compared to those at the "interface" or "surface". In this letter, we report a robust electric-field effect on emissions from fluorescence proteins immobilized at the metal-solution interface, and also report a micro-scale display device based on the interface effect. A series of experiments were then performed to discuss the potential mechanism which should lead to innovative interdisciplinary applications.