Abstract

Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) between molecular transitions and photonic structures can be used to tune the reactivity of molecules, and hybrid polariton states have been employed to modify the energy landscape of molecular systems in an optical cavity. To investigate how to modulate life reactions with VSC, herein we selected an in vitro model bioreaction, DNA replication, i.e., recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), to couple with the typical Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavity mode. Known as an isothermal enzymatic reaction, RPA well satisfies the VSC study within FP cavities. Through tuning the resonance coupling strength between water molecules and FP cavity modes, we can regulate the efficiency of RPA as the cavity modes change from 3100 to 3550 cm–1. The results showed that O–H-based VSC can significantly inhibit the efficiency of RPA by ∼58%. Due to the key role of water in life, O–H stretching vibrational coupling with photonic structures could be a novel tool to regulate life in turn.