Role
Cuifeng Ying is a Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering at the Department of Engineering in the School of Science and Technology. She is a member of the Advanced Optics and Photonics Group (www.aoplab.com).
Career overview
Dr. Cuifeng Ying received her Ph.D. in Physics in the research group of Prof. Jian-Guo Tian in 2013 from Nankai University, where she used photonic crystals and plasmonic nanocavities to enhance fluorescent signals for biosensing applications. She followed up her doctoral studies during a first postdoctoral appointment with Prof. Yongsheng Chen in Nankai University's Centre for Nanoscale Science and Technology, where she began performing single-molecule sensing using nanopores. In 2016, she joined the Biophysics group of Prof. Michael Mayer as a postdoctoral researcher at the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg.
Dr Ying’s research focuses on using plasmonic nanostructures and synthetic nanopores to study the conformational dynamics of individual proteins. She has developed widely accessible nanopore fabrication technique, surface functionalisation methods and data analysis algorithms to allow fingerprinting of single, unmodified proteins using solid-state nanopores. Additionally, she has utilised plasmonic nanotweezers to manipulate and monitor the conformational dynamics and assembly/disassembly pathways of single proteins in solution.
Research areas
Nanopore technology: Single-molecule DNA and protein characterization by nanopore sensing; fabrication, characterization of solid-state nanopores; surface functionalization of synthetic nanopores.
Nanophotonic biosensing: plasmonic nanotweezers for interrogation of single-protein conformational dynamics
External activity
Co-guest Editor of the journal Nanomaterials (2020-2021)
Reviewer of journals: ACS Sensor, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, ACS applied nano materials, Chemistry Communications.
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
Y. Cui, C. Ying,* X. Huang, Q. Ye, J. Tian, Z. Liu,* Electrical Transport and Dynamics of Confined DNA through Highly Conductive 2D Graphene Nanochannels, Nano Letters, 24, 4485–4492 (2024)
A. Yousefi, C. Ying,* C. Parmenter, M. Assadipapari, G. Sanderson, Z. Zheng, L. Xu, S. Zargarbashi, G. Hickman, R. Cousins, C. Mellor, and M. Rahmani,* Optical Monitoring of In Situ Iron Loading into Single, Native Ferritin Proteins, Nano Letters, 23, 3251-3258. (2023)
S. Awasthi, C. Ying, J. Li, M. Mayer, Simultaneous Determination of Size and Shape of Single alpha-Synuclein Oligomers in Solution, ACS Nano,17, 12325–12335 (2023)
M. Peters, D. McIntosh, A. B. Albu, C. Ying, R. Gordon Label-Free Tracking of Proteins through Plasmon-Enhanced Interference ACS Nanoscience Au 2024, 4, 69-75 (2023)
Y. Cui, H. Guo, X. Yan, W. Zhou, Q. Ye, C. Ying, Z. Liu, J. Tian, Nonlinear and Anisotropic Ion Transport in Black Phosphorus Nanochannels, Nano Letters, 23, 5886–5893 (2023)
Z. Zheng, L. Xu, L. Huang, D. Smirnova, K. Zangeneh Kamali, A. Yousefi, F. Deng, R. Camacho-Morales, C. Ying, A. Miroshnichenko, D. Neshev, M. Rahmani Third-harmonic generation and imaging with resonant Si membrane metasurface, Opto-Electron Adv 6, 220174 (2023)
K. Akshpreet, A. Gupta, C. Ying, M. Rahmani, and G. Sapra. Smart wearable triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered bioelectronics and therapeutics, Microelectronic Engineering 275:111992 (2023)
C. Ying,* T. Ma, L. Xu, M. Rahmani, Localized Breakdown for Nanopore Fabrication, Nanomaterials 12, 2384 (2022)
C. Ying,* J. Houghtaling, M. Michael, Effects of Off-Axis Translocation through Nanopores on the Determination of Shape and Volume Estimates for Individual Particles. Nanotechnology, 33, 275501 (2022)
Z. Zheng, L. Xu, L. Huang, D. Smirnova, P. Hong, C. Ying, M. Rahman, Boosted Second-Harmonic Generation in the LiNbO Metasurface Governed by High-Q Guided Resonances and Bound States in the Continuum, Phys. Rev. B 106, 125411(2022)
H. Guo, Y. Cui, Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, B. Su, W. Zhou, J. Tian, C. Ying, L. Liu, Stable Nanopores in Two-Dimensional Materials for Ion Conductivity Devices and Biosensors. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 5, 3611–3618 (2022)
P. Hong, L. Xu, C. Ying, M. Rahmani, Flatband Mode in Photonic Moiré Superlattice for Boosting Second-Harmonic Generation with Monolayer van der Waals Crystals," Opt. Lett. 47, 2326-2329 (2022)
L. Xu, D. Smirnova, R. Camacho-Morales, R. A. Aoni, K. Z. Kamali, M. Cai, C. Ying, Z. Zheng, A. Miroshnichenko, D. Neshev, M. Rahmani, Enhanced Four-Wave Mixing from Multi-Resonant Silicon Dimer-Hole Membrane Metasurfaces, New J. Phys. 24 035002 (2022)
A. Saurabh, P. Sriboonpeng, C. Ying, J. Houghtaling, I. Shorubalko, S. Marion, S. J. Davis, L. Sola, M. Chiari, A. Radenovic, M.Mayer, Polymer Coatings to Minimize Protein Adsorption in Solid-State Nanopores. Small Methods 2000177 (2020)
D. Schrecongost, Y. Xiang, J. Chen, C. Ying, H. Zhang, M. Yang, P. Gajurel, W. Dai, R. Engel-Herbert, C. Cen, Rewritable Nanoplasmonics through Room-Temperature Phase Manipulations of Vanadium Dioxide, Nano Lett. 20, 7760 (2020)
J. Houghtaling, C. Ying, O. Eggenberger, A. Fennouri, S. Nanivida, M. Acharjee, J. Li; A. Hall, M. Mayer, Estimation of Shape, Volume, and Dipole Moment of Individual Proteins Freely Transiting a Synthetic Nanopore, ACS Nano 13, 5231-5242(2019)
L. de Vreede, C. Ying, J. Houghtaling, J. Figueiredo Da Silva, A. Hall, A. Lovera, M. Mayer, Wafer Scale Fabrication of Fused Silica Chips for Low-Noise Recording of Resistive Pulses Through Nanopores, Nanotechnology 30, 26 (2019)
O.M. Eggenberger, C Ying, M. Mayer, Surface Coatings for Solid-State Nanopores, Nanoscale 11, 19636-19657 (2019)
M. Eggenberger, G. Leriche, T. Koyanagi, C. Ying, J. Houghtaling, T. BH Schroeder, J. Yang, J. Li, A. Hall, M. Mayer, Fluid Surface Coatings for Solid-State Nanopores: Comparison of Phospholipid Bilayers and Archaea-Inspired Lipid Monolayers Nanotechnology 30, 325504 (2019)
C. Ying, J. Houghtaling, O. M. Eggenberger, A. Guha, P. Nirmalraj, S. Awasthi, J. Tian, M. Mayer, Formation of Single Nanopores with Diameters of 20-50 nm in Silicon Nitride Membranes Using Laser-Assisted Controlled Breakdown, ACS Nano 12, 11458 (2018)
Y. Wang, C. Ying*, W. Zhou, L. de Vreede, Z. Liu, J. Tian Fabrication of Multiple Nanopores in a SiNx Membrane via Controlled Breakdown, Sci. Rep., 8, 1234 (2018)
S. Jin, W. Hui, Y. Wang, K. Huang, Q. Shi, C Ying, D Liu, Q Ye, W Zhou, J. Tian, Hyperspectral Imaging Using the Single-Pixel Fourier Transform Technique Sci. Rep., 7, 45209 (2017)
Y. Zhao, C. Ying, Q. Huang, Y. Deng, D. Zhou, D. Wang, W. Lu, H. Cui, Fabrication of Controllable Mesh Layers Above SiNx Micro Pores with ZnO Nanostructures Microelectron Eng. 169, 43 (2017)
C. Ying, Y. Zhang, Y. Feng, D. Zhou, Y. Chen, C. Du, D. Wang, J. Tian, 3D Nanopore Shape Control by Current-Stimulus Dielectric Breakdown, Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 063105 (2016)
Y. Zhang, Y. Chen, Y. Fu, C. Ying, Y. Feng, Q. Huang, C. Wang, D. Pei, D. Wang, Monitoring Tetracycline through a Solid-State Nanopore Sensor Sci. Rep. 6, 27959 (2016)
S. Jin, W. Hui, B. Liu, C. Ying, D. Liu, Q. Ye, W. Zhou, J. Tian. Extended-Field Coverage Hyperspectral Camera Based on a Single-Pixel Technique. Applied Optics 55, 18 (2016)
Y. Deng, Q. Huang, Y. Zhao, D. Zhou, C. Ying, D. Wang, Precise Fabrication of a 5 nm Graphene Nanopore with a Helium Ion Microscope for Biomolecule Detection, Nanotechnology 28, 045302 (2016)
Zhou, Y. Deng, C. Ying, Y. Zhang, Y. Feng, Q. Huang, L. Liang, D. Wang, Rectification of Ion Current Determined by the Nanopore Geometry: Experiments and Modelling D. Chin. Phys. Lett., 33, 108501 (2016)
Y. Xiang, W. Luo, W. Cai, C. Ying, X. Yu, X. Zhang, H. Liu, J. Xu, Ultra-Strong Enhancement of Electromagnetic Fields in an L-shaped Plasmonic Nanocavity Opt. Exp. 24 (4), 3849-3857 (2016)
Y. Feng, Y. Zhang, C. Ying, D. Wang, C. Du, Nanopore Based Fourth-Generation Sequencing Techniques, Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics, 13, 4-16. (2015)
Y. Li, W. Zhou, C. Ying, N. Yang, S. Chen, Q. Ye, J. Tian, Novel Cone Lasing Emission in a Non-Uniform One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal J. Opt. 17 (6), 065403 (2015)
Y. Xiang, P. Wang, W. Cai, C. Ying, X. Zhang, and J. Xu, Plasmonic Tamm States: Dual Enhancement of Light inside the Plasmonic Waveguide, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31, 2769-2772 (2014)
Z. Li, Y. Liu, M. Yan, W. Zhou, C. Ying, Q. Ye, J. Tian, A Simplified Hollow-Core Microstructured Optical Fibre Laser with Microring Resonators and Strong Radial Emission Appl. Phy. Lett. 105, 071902 (2014)
Y. Xiang, W. Cai, L. Wang, C. Ying, X. Zhang, J. Xu, Design Methodology for All-Optical Bistable Switches Based on a Plasmonic Resonator Sandwiched Between Dielectric Waveguides J. Opt. 16, 025003 (2014)
C. Ying, W. Zhou, Y. Li, Q. Ye, N. Yang and J. Tian, Miniband Lasing in a 1D Dual-Periodic Photonic Crystal, Laser Phys. Lett. 10, 056001 (2013)
C. Ying, W. Zhou, Y., Q. Ye, N. Yang and J. Tian, Multiple and Colorful Cone-Shaped Lasing Induced by Band-Coupling in a 1D Dual-Periodic Photonic Crystal, AIP Advances 3, 022125 (2013)
W. Yan, C. Ying, X. Kong, Z. Li, J. Tian, Fabrication and Optical Properties of Inclined Au Nanocup Arrays, Plasmonic 8, 4: 1607-1611 (2013)
X. Zhang, X. Chen, X. Li, C. Ying, Z. Liu, J. Tian, Enhanced Reverse Saturable Absorption and Optical Limiting Properties in a Protonated Water-Soluble Porphyrin J. Opt. 15 (5), 055206 (2013)
Y. Xiang, X., Zhang, W. Cai, L. Wang, C. Ying, J. Xu, Optical Bistability Based on Bragg Grating Resonators in Metal-Insulator-Metal Plasmonic Waveguides AIP Advances 3 (1), 012106 (2013)
C. Ying, W. Zhou, Q. Ye, Z. Li, J. Tian, Mini-Band States in Graded Periodic 1D Photonic Superstructure Appl. Phys. B 107 (2), 369-374 (2012)
C. Ying, W. Zhou, Q. Ye, X. Zhang, and J. Tian, Band-Edge Lasing in Rh6G-Doped Dichromated Gelatin at Different Excitations, J. Opt. 12, 115101 (2010)
Preprints
S. Batra, T. Ragan, A. Frank, M. Kaplan, C. Lancey, M. Assadipapari, C. Ying, W. Struwe, E. Hesketh, L. Barfod, I. Campeotto, Open and closed conformations of a sub-80 kDa Chagas vaccine candidate defined by a cryo-EM led integrative approach. bioRxiv 2024.03. 26.586384 (2024)
A. Yousefi, Z. Zheng, S. Zargarbashi, M. Assadipapari, G. J. Hickman, C. D. Parmenter, G. Sanderson, D. Craske, L. Xu, M. Rahmani, C. Ying,* Structural Flexibility and Disassembly Kinetics of Single Ferritins using Optical Nanotweezers. bioRxiv, 2023-09. 22.558948 (2023).
C. Ying, E. Karakaci, E. Bermudez-Urena, A. Ianiro, C. Foster, S. Awasthi, A. Guha, L. Bryan, J. List, S. Balog, G. P Acuna, R. Gordon, M. Mayer, Watching Single Unmodified Enzymes at Work, arXiv:2107.06407 (2021)