Chiral objects - those with mirror images that cannot be superimposed - abound in nature. Electromagnetic waves can also be chiral, as in the case of circularly polarized light. Since chiral objects interact differently with each other depending on their handedness, enantiomers of a chiral molecule exhibit preferential absorption of right- or left-handed circularly polarized light. Consequently, circularly polarized light can probe the geometric and electromagnetic chiral properties of molecules. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy measures this differential absorption in the ultraviolet and visible spectrum. Due to the weak nature of CD, the technique requires large concentrations of molecules and long integration times. Increasing the sensitivity of this spectroscopy technique would improve many pharmaceutical and molecular biology applications. Moreover, circularly polarized light has been used to separate molecular enantiomers in racemic mixtures through chiral light matter interactions.

In this line of research, we generally aim to deepen our understanding on nanoscale light matter interactions. In particular, we explore the possibility of using optical antennas to enhance the sensitivity of CD spectroscopy and to augment the efficiency of universal enantio-separation techniques..