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Light near surface of ultra-thin optical fibers can sort twisted nanoparticles

Phys · · 762 words · By Tokyo University

Researchers demonstrated a method to manipulate metallic chiral nanoparticles by using tightly confined light within an ultra-thin optical fiber. By exploiting the differential force exerted by circularly polarized light based on a particle's handedness, the team achieved chirality-selective transport and optical separation. This technique suggests a potential future application for manipulating individual molecules, aiding in drug development and biological study.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-surface-ultra-thin-optical-fibers.html

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fact_checkFact-Check Results

19 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 9
check_circle Corroborated 6
info Single Source 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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“Many important objects in the world can be divided into two categories based on their chirality or handedness, including molecules important for life such as amino acids.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that chirality is a property applicable to various objects, including molecules important for life like amino acids. One source mentions amino acids and sugars, another mentions chirality governing interactions in biomolecules, and a third discusses the mystery of L-amino acids versus D-amino acids.
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web search NEUTRAL — In proteinogenic amino acids, it bears the amine and the R group or side chain specific to each amino acid, as well as a hydrogen atom. With the exception of glycine, for which the side chain is also …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid
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web search NEUTRAL — − From biomolecules such as amino acids and sugars to enantioselective catalysts, chirality governs key interactions in both nature and synthetic systems.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12492338/
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web search NEUTRAL — But why L-amino acids instead of D-amino acids, and why D-sugars instead of L-sugars? This is the real mystery. Something at the very beginning of life had to select one over the other.
https://medium.com/a-spoonful-of-sugar/biological-homochiral…
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“An everyday example of a chiral object is a screw.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results list screws as a common, everyday example of a chiral object, contrasting them with achiral objects.
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web search NEUTRAL — Everyday Examples: Chiral and Achiral Objects All Around You. Common Chiral Objects (Your Hands, Screws, Shoes). Common Achiral Objects (Cups, Chairs, Spheres). Why Does Chirality Matter?
https://getacademy.blog/classify-chiral-achiral-objects-guid…
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web search NEUTRAL — Examples of Substituted Allenes With Mirror PlanesAn Example of A Chiral, Di-Substituted AlleneChiral Allenes Have an “Axis of Chirality”
https://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2015/01/13/chiral-all…
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web search NEUTRAL — A chiral object and its mirror image are called enantiomorphs (Greek, "opposite forms") or, when referring to molecules, enantiomers. Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality
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“Right-handed screws moves into a material when rotated clockwise, but its mirror image (i.e., a left-handed screw) moves out.”
CORROBORATED
The evidence explicitly details the directional behavior of right-handed versus left-handed screws. One source states that right-hand threads advance (move into the material) when rotated clockwise, and another confirms that a left-handed screw moves away when rotated clockwise, which is the opposite action.
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web search NEUTRAL — Clockwise motion proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite sense of ro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockwise
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web search NEUTRAL — Reason 1: Screw Thread Direction: Right-hand threads are designed to advance (move into the material) when rotated clockwise. This means the threads must be oriented in such a way that the force appli…
https://studyx.ai/questions/4lucsmd/in-freehand-draw-a-right…
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web search NEUTRAL — With a left-handed screw, the nut moves away from you when the screw is rotated clockwise. Image credit: McMaster-Carr. The prevalence of right-handed power transmission screws follows from the domina…
https://www.linearmotiontips.com/screw-handedness-when-do-yo…
info
“Chiral particles behave differently when exposed to light with a circular polarization.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim states that chiral particles react differently when exposed to circularly polarized light. While the evidence confirms that chirality is related to light interaction (e.g., in claim 4 and 5), the specific statement that 'chiral particles react differently when exposed to light with a circular polarization' is not independently corroborated by multiple sources; it is a general concept supported by the context of the search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — A chiral object and its mirror image are called enantiomorphs (Greek, "opposite forms") or, when referring to molecules, enantiomers. Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 14, 2025 · For a molecule to be chiral, it must contain at least one specific structural feature known as a chiral center, or an asymmetric center. In organic molecules, this center is typically a…
https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-chirality-and-why-does-i…
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web search NEUTRAL — Chirality essentially means 'mirror-image, non-superimposable molecules', and to say that a molecule is chiral is to say that its mirror image (it must have one) is not the same as itself.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Su…
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“This fact allows them to be sorted in principle, which is expected to be important for applications such as drug development, where the handedness of a chiral molecule determines how it interacts with biological systems.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the importance of molecular handedness in biological systems, particularly in drug development. One source notes that chirality governs key interactions in biomolecules, and another explicitly discusses how the handedness of medicinal agents affects biological properties.
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web search NEUTRAL — Light-chiral material interaction leads to a unique chiral optical force, which possesses opposite directions for specimens with different handedness. However, usually the enantioselective sorting is …
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351796176_Sorting_c…
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web search NEUTRAL — Chiral drugs and biological activity. Many medicinal agents are combinations of mirror-image twins. Despite their close resemblance, the differences in their biological properties can be profound.
https://chiralpedia.com/blog/chirality-in-pharmaceuticals-th…
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web search NEUTRAL — Light Sorts Twisted Nanoparticles. Tokyo University of Science. Many important objects in the world can be divided into two categories based on their chirality or handedness, including molecules impor…
https://www.miragenews.com/light-sorts-twisted-nanoparticles…
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“In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan; Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), Japan; and Seoul National University (SNU), Republic of Korea, have demonstrated a method for manipulating metallic chiral nanoparticles using light.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that researchers demonstrated a method to selectively transport or sort chiral nanoparticles using light, referencing the work of SNU and IMS.
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web search NEUTRAL — By demonstrating that chiral nanoparticles can be selectively transported using light, this study provides a simpler and more effective way to control chirality at very small scales.
https://www.ims.ac.jp/en/news/2026/04/0424.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Ki Tae Nam’s team at SNU enriched the chiral nanoparticle design, and expertise from Prof. Hiromi Okamoto’s group at IMS elucidated the intricate optical properties underpinning the observed phenomena…
https://scienmag.com/nanoparticles-twisted-and-sorted-using-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Scientists use circularly polarized light to separate chiral nanoparticles, offering a breakthrough for nanotechnology and future drug development.Looking ahead, the researchers hope to extend this me…
https://www.techexplorist.com/light-particles-chirality/1027…
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“The study's first author, Dr. Georgiy Tkachenko and second author Akiyoshi Suda performed the original experiments at TUS using particles fabricated at IMS by Dr. Hyo-Yong Ahn.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this specific claim, and no sources were provided to corroborate the roles of Dr. Georgiy Tkachenko, Akiyoshi Suda, or Dr. Hyo-Yong Ahn in the manner described.
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“The research used optical fiber techniques developed by Professor Mark Sadgrove's group at TUS, along with chiral nanoparticles developed by Professor Ki Tae Nam's group at SNU and expertise in chiral nanoparticle optical properties developed by Professor Hiromi Okamoto's group at IMS.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources corroborate the involvement of the specified groups and techniques: TUS/Sadgrove's optical fiber techniques, SNU/Ki Tae Nam's chiral nanoparticles, and IMS/Hiromi Okamoto's expertise in optical properties.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hatfield College is one of the constituent colleges of Durham University in England. It occupies a city centre site above the River Wear on the World Heritage Site peninsula, lying adjacent to North B…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield_College,_Durham
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web search NEUTRAL — The research user optical fiber techniques developed at Professor Mark Sadgrove's group at TUS along with chiral nanoparticles developed by Professor Ki Tae Nam's group at SNU and expertise in chiral …
https://www.miragenews.com/light-sorts-twisted-nanoparticles…
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web search NEUTRAL — Contributions from Prof. Ki Tae Nam’s team at SNU enriched the chiral nanoparticle design, and expertise from Prof. Hiromi Okamoto’s group at IMS elucidated the intricate optical properties underpinni…
https://bioengineer.org/nanoparticles-twisted-and-sorted-usi…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“With circularly polarized light, this force can depend on chirality, pushing left- and right-handed particles differently.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this specific claim, and no sources were provided to corroborate that the force exerted by circularly polarized light depends on chirality in the manner described.
info
“While circularly polarized light has been used to separate microparticles (whose size is about the width of a human hair), applying the same approach to nanoparticles, which are 1,000 times smaller, has not been successful.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim contrasts the successful separation of microparticles using circularly polarized light with the difficulty of applying the same method to much smaller nanoparticles. While the evidence confirms the use of circularly polarized light for separation (Claim 5), the specific quantitative comparison (1,000 times smaller) and the assertion that it 'has not been successful' for nanoparticles is only strongly implied by the context of the search results and not independently corroborated by multiple sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A separating arch is an arch, which, as arcade, separates the nave of a church from the side aisle, or an arch between two adjacent side aisles. It is found mainly in hall churches. A separating arch …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separating_arch
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In signaling games, a separating equilibrium is a type of perfect Bayesian equilibrium where agents with different characteristics choose different actions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separating_equilibrium
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Separation may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation
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“To overcome this limitation, the researchers used tightly confined light to enhance its interaction with the particles.”
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“They achieved this using an ultra-thin optical fiber, where light is concentrated near the fiber surface in a region known as an evanescent field.”
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“By using circularly polarized light (where the electric field rotates as the light travels), they created a situation in which left- and right-handed particles experience different forces.”
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“The team examined this effect using tiny metallic nanocubes with twisted faces, giving them a defined chirality.”
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“When these particles were placed near the optical fiber, they moved along its length under the influence of the evanescent field.”
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“Importantly, the direction and speed of this motion depended on both the handedness of the particles and the polarization of the light.”
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“By switching the circular polarization of the light between clockwise and anticlockwise, the researchers could reverse how left- and right-handed particles responded, changing the direction in which they moved along the fiber.”
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“This enabled chirality-selective transport and effective optical separation of the nanoparticles.”
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“The publication details state the article was published in Nature Communications in 2026.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.