Transformable Plasmonic Helix with Swinging Gold Nanoparticles

Control over multiple optical elements that can be dynamically rearranged to yield substantial three-dimensional structural transformations is of great importance to realize reconfigurable plasmonic nanoarchitectures with sensitive and distinct optical feedback. In this work, we demonstrate a transformable plasmonic helix system, in which multiple gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be directly transported by DNA swingarms to target positions without undergoing consecutive stepwise movements. The swingarms allow for programmable AuNP translocations in large leaps within plasmonic nanoarchitectures, giving rise to tailored circular dichroism spectra. Our work provides an instructive bottom-up solution to building complex dynamic plasmonic systems, which can exhibit prominent optical responses through cooperative rearrangements of the constituent optical elements with high fidelity and programmability.