
Im Lab
Read BioPhotonics, plasmonics and novel materials
Our lab develops novel devices and applications using state-of the art nanoplasmonic and photonic sensors. We also develop new materials to expand the utility of these sensors. Our vision is to bridge the fields of engineering and medicine for next-generation diagnostic technologies. Based on physics and basic in nature, our ultimate goal is clinical translation.
Recent Publications
Kim H, Choia SK, Ahn J, Yu H, Kyoungha Min K, Hong C, Shin IS, Lee S, Lee H, Im H, Ko JG, Kim E Kaleidoscopic fluorescent arrays for machine-learning-based point-of-care chemical sensing. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 2020;329:129248 - DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2020.129248
Chin LK*, Son T*, Hong JS, Liu AQ, Skog J, Castro CM, Weissleder R, Lee H*, Im H* Plasmonic Sensors for Extracellular Vesicle Analysis: From Scientific Development to Translational Research. ACS Nano. 2020;14(11):14528-14548 - PMID: 33119256 - DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c07581
Min J, Son T, Hong JS, Cheah PS Wegemann A, Murlidharan K, Weissleder R, Lee H, Im H Plasmon-Enhanced Biosensing for Multiplexed Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles. Adv Biosyst. 2020;2020:2000003 - PMID: 32815321 - PMCID: PMC7718316 - DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202000003 - Cover
Min J*, Chin LK*, Oh J, Landeros C, Vinegoni C, Lee J, Lee SJ, Park JY, Liu AQ, Castro CM, Lee H, Im H, Weissleder R CytoPAN—Portable cellular analyses for rapid point-of-care cancer diagnosis. Sci Transl Med. 2020;12:eaaz9746 - PMID: 32759277 - DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz9746
Van Deun J, Jo A, Li H, Lin HY, Weissleder R, Im H, Lee H Integrated Dual-Mode Chromatography to Enrich Extracellular Vesicles from Plasma. Adv Biosyst. 2020;4(12):e1900310 - PMID: 32351054 - PMCID: PMC7606548 - DOI: 10.1002/adbi.201900310
- More publications ...
Research projects

Nanoplasmonic sensing
- Multiplexed exosome analysis
- Single molecular detection

Microholography
- Advanced photonics diagnostics
- Integrated portable imaging system

Nanospectroscopy
- Chip-based nano-spectroscopy sensing
- Integrated with deep learning-based data analysis

Nanophotonics
- Next-generation optical sensing system
- High-throughput, low-cost chip fabrication

Nano-plasmonic sensors
In the past, we have developed nanoplasmonic sensing systems (nPLEX/NPS) for exosome analysis in cancer. Ongoing projects are in the fields of highly multiplexed exosome analysis as well as for single molecule analysis.
The nPLEX sensor was highlighted as one of the greatest hits among 20 years of Nature Biotechnology biomedical research.- Yang KS*, Im H*, Hong S*, Pergolini I, Del Castillo AF, Wang R, Clardy S, Huang CH, Pille C, Ferrone S, Yang R, Castro CM, Lee H, Del Castillo CF, Weissleder R. Multiparametric plasma EV profiling facilitates diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy. Sci Transl Med. 2017;9(391):eaal3226 – PMID: 28539469.
- Im H*, Shao H*, Park YI, Peterson VM, Castro CM, Weissleder R*, Lee H*. Label-free detection and molecular profiling of exosomes with a nano-plasmonic sensor. Nature Biotechnol. 2014;32(5):490-5 – PMID: 24752081