Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41577672›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Meta-amplified dark-field interferometric scattering microscopy.

Hongki Lee, Junxiang Zhao, Pan Hu, Zhaoyu Nie, Ming Lei, Guanghao Chen, Soojeong Baek, Qianyi Wu, Li Chen, Ang Li and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Hongki Lee *Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0655-1925
Junxiang Zhao *Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Pan HuMing Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Zhaoyu NieDepartment of Mechanical Engineering University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Ming LeiDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Guanghao ChenDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Soojeong BaekDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Qianyi WuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Li ChenDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Ang LiDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Mojie LuoDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Shizhen Emily WangDepartment of Pathology University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Sui YangMaterials Science and Engineering School for Engineering of Matter Transport and Energy Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4072-6856
Wei WuMing Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6404-0317
Zhaowei LiuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. zhaowei@ucsd.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5732-8109

Funding

National Science Foundation (NSF) CBET-2348536
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Label-free optical detection of nanometer-scale bioparticles is highly desirable for noninvasive biological studies but challenging due to the weak scattering signals that are difficult to distinguish from the illumination background. Interferometric scattering microscopy (iSCAT) has enabled high-sensitivity imaging by detecting the interference between the particle's scattered light and a reference beam. However, enhancing the detection sensitivity and the image contrast for small particles continues to be a challenge in iSCAT. Here, we introduce meta-amplified dark-field interferometric scattering microscopy (MAD-iSCAT), which leverages a plasmonic metasurface to drastically enhance nanoparticle detection sensitivity in iSCAT. By employing a metasurface comprising sub-diffraction plasmonic meta-atom arrays, MAD-iSCAT generates bright radiation modes that intensely scatter light toward the far field in the presence of a detection nanoparticle, substantially amplifying the sensitivity. In the absence of a nanoparticle, the metasurface produces minimal background due to the dark collective mode, resulting in improved image contrast. We present a theoretical analysis of amplified interferometric imaging using designed metasurfaces and experimentally demonstrate enhancements in contrast and signal-to-noise ratio for detecting dielectric nanoparticles, exosomes, and proteins. Our approach offers broad applications in label-free biosensing and optical mass spectrometry, enabling significantly improved throughput and sensitivity.

Identifiers

PMID41577672
PMCPMC12932657

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.