Laser excitation of gigahertz vibrations in Cauliflower mosaic viruses’ suspension

Abstract

The interaction of laser pulses with the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) in a Tris-HCl pH7.5 buffer is investigated. 20 ns ruby laser pulses are used for excitation. Spectra of the light passing through the sample and reflected from it are registered with the help of a Fabri-Perot interferometer. Stimulated low-frequency Raman scattering (SLFRS) in a CaMV suspension is registered. The SLFRS frequency shift, conversion efficiency and threshold are measured for the first time, to the best of our knowledge.

Optical Trapping, Sizing, and Probing Acoustic Modes of a Small Virus

“…Viruses are of nanometer size scale and, thus, predicted to have vibrational modes in the GHz frequency range. Brillouin scattering can probe the GHz frequency range and, indeed, some Brillouin studies were done on viruses [43,46,48,59,60]; however, the peaks were difficult to observe possibly due to damping by water or core-shell interactions, as discussed in those works. Moreover, unlike these other opto-mechanical measurement methods, the EAR technique provides a high resolution of vibrational frequencies of individual nanometer-scale particles which are confined by optical trapping, as opposed to measuring ensembles of particles in the case of Raman and Brillouin scattering studies.…”

“…Determination of elastic properties and, in particular, vibrational frequencies of viral structures is much sought after [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. Characteristic frequencies can be used as a "fingerprint" to identify viruses.…”

“…Previous work using the extraordinary acoustic Raman (EAR) technique investigated small proteins including DNA and polystyrene nanospheres [9][10][11]22], whereas here we report of the study of a virus using the technique, since the vibrational frequencies of viruses were of interest to researchers for some time [35,37,38,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]. The EAR technique involves the application of two lasers.…”

Stimulated Low-Frequency Raman Scattering in Brome Mosaic Virus

“…Of particular interest, there is the measurement of the natural vibration frequencies of nanoscale viruses dangerous to humans, for example, influenza viruses or SARS-CoV-2, with the aim of their subsequent destruction or suppression under optical (two-photon) or microwave resonance irradiation. For these purposes, it is of interest to study plant viruses that are safe for humans and have a similar shape (sphere) [7].…”

Stimulated Low-Frequency Raman Scattering in Albumin

“…SLFRS was realized for a large number of various nanoparticles (metallic, dielectric, and semiconductor), nanostructured thin films and highly ordered samples such as opal matrices and nanocomposites on their base [18][19][20][21]. SLFRS was observed also in different viruses (Cauliflower mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic virus and two types of Potato viruses) [22,23,24]. Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) has a spherical form with a diameter of 35 nm.…”