  Prospects of using metal hole arrays for the enhanced optical detection of
molecular chirality in nanosize volumes are investigated. Light transmission
through the holes filled with an optically active material is modeled and the
activity enhancement by more than an order of magnitude is demonstrated. The
spatial resolution of the chirality detection is shown to be of a few tens of
nanometers. From comparing the effect in arrays of cylindrical holes and holes
of complex chiral shape, it is concluded that the detection sensitivity is
determined by the plasmonic near field enhancement. The intrinsic chirality of
the arrays due to their shape appears to be less important.
