Home - Applied nanoPhysics Group

Center for Bionanoscience Research (CIBION), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)
Physics Department, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires (UBA)

Using optical methods, we explore the properties and technological applications of nanoparticles, single molecules, nanostructured materials, supramolecular assemblies, biological and hybrid nanosystems.

The Applied nanoPhysics Group was launched in October 2009 at the Physics Department, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA)

In 2012 we moved our labs to the Center for Bionanoscience Research (CIBION) of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), while Prof. Stefani still holds his position at the Physics Department of the University of Buenos Aires.

CURRENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Fluorescence nanoscopy.

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, also known as fluorescence nanoscopy, has revolutionized biological imaging because they provide deep sub-wavelenght spatial resolution while keeping the low-invasiveness of far-field optical interrogation. We apply and optimize well-established methods like STED and STORM, and develop new ones, such as MINFLUX, and open-source software for fluorescence nanoscopy. With them, we address questions of cellular and neuronal biology.

Optical printing colloidal nanoparticles.

Colloidal chemistry enables the fabrication of nanoparticles of different shapes, sizes and material compositions, that exhibit unique physical and chemical properties, inexistent in bulk materials. In order to make use of those properties in devices and circuits, it is necessary to develope methods to bring the colloidal nanoparticles from the liquid phase to specific locations of solid substrates. We address this challenge using optical forces.

Self-assembled Nanophotonic Devices.

Semiconductor-based devices are approaching intrinsic limits of speed and heat dissipation.
Optical devices are faster and practically loss-less, but their size miniaturization is limited by the wavelength of light. Nanophotonics and Plasmonics deals with the manipulation of light at the nanoscale. We investigate light-matter interaction between single-photon emitters and metallic nanoparticles organized in nanodevices by self-assembly.

LATESTS NEWS

New group members: Florian Haberkorn Waigel and Facundo Rouquaud

nano_x7n4r02025-10-22T13:19:41+00:00April 1st, 2025|

Florian (right on the picture) has joined the group to pursue a Ph.D. working on single-particle tracking inside human neurons using p-MINFLUX. He has obtained a CONICET fellowship under the direction of Prof. Stefani and co-direction of Dr. Tomás Falzone of IBIOBA. Facundo Rouquaud (left on the picture) has [...]

New group members: Matías Laborero and Lautaro Mancini

nano_x7n4r02025-10-23T19:13:26+00:00March 10th, 2025|

Matías Laborero (right) and Lautaro Mancini (left) have joined our group as undergraduate students of the Physics Department of Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, to make a lab internship. They will implement and train a neural network to clasify astigmatic single moecule [...]

Guidelines for 3D MINFLUX excitation pattern design

nano_x7n4r02025-10-22T13:40:04+00:00March 10th, 2025|

MINFLUX nanoscopy pushes the boundaries of optical resolution by localizing single fluorophores with minimal excitation, providing valuable new insight about the structures and functions of biological systems at the nanoscale. MINFLUX is based on registering the number of photons emitted by the target fluorophore when it is excited with [...]

We start the construction of new microscopes for the Federal Network of Super-Resolution Microscopy

nano_x7n4r02025-10-22T12:42:50+00:00February 4th, 2025|

After some delays, we received the funds for the second year of the Federal Network of Super-resolution Microscopy (Red Federal de Microscopía de Super-resolución), and today the first shipment of components arrived. Now we can start building new microscopes to our partners of the network. The goal of [...]

Towards fluorescence-based structural biology – Sosa et al. Small Methods

nano_x7n4r02025-10-22T12:43:19+00:00February 2nd, 2025|

Fluorescence nanoscopy has reached levels of resolution compatible with structural biology measurements. The groups of Stefan Hell and Ralf Jungmann have recently demonstrated position measurements in biological samples with a precision below 1 nm. In contrast to traditional methods like X-ray crystalography or cryo-EM, these measurements can be performed [...]

1st Training Workshop on Super-resolution Microscopy (FOMISUR)

nano_x7n4r02025-02-28T18:50:04+00:00December 13th, 2024|

Our lab leads the Federal Network for Super-resolution Microscopy (Red Federal de Microscopía de Super-Resolución) whose main objective is to disseminate super-resolution methods throughout Argentina, comprising hardware, software and "brainware", i.e. teaching and training. Within this program, we organized the first training workshop on super-resolution microscopy (Taller de Formación [...]

Wellcome Giovanni Ferrari – visiting graduate student from LMU

nano_x7n4r02025-10-22T17:07:02+00:00December 5th, 2024|

We wellcome Giovanni Ferrari, Ph.D. candidate in the group of Prof. Philip Tinnefeld at the LMU Munich, who is visiting for 4 months with a DAAD fellowship. Giovanni will work on applying p-MINFLUX for single-particle tracking and optimizing a protocolo for widespread use of SIMPLER. We look forward [...]

Prof. Stefani is incorporated to the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences

nano_x7n4r02025-03-02T10:19:00+00:00December 2nd, 2024|

Prof. Fernando Stefani has been appointed as a Titular Member of the prestigious National Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences (ANCEFN). This is a significant honor, as only 37 scholars across all disciplines hold this distinguished position. His inclusion highlights his outstanding contributions to research and innovation, further strengthening [...]