A disposable polymer sensor chip combined with micro-fluidics and surface plasmon read-out

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a label-free optical sensing technique.
• Traditional SPR sensors often require complex fabrication and are not easily disposable.
• Microfluidic systems offer miniaturization and precise sample handling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel disposable polymeric sensor chip.
• To integrate microfluidic channels with grating-coupled surface plasmon modes.
• To achieve efficient and cost-effective SPR sensing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a silicon stamp with nano-structures (grating) and micro-structures (micro-channels) using holographic methods and photolithography.
• One-step transfer of micro-channels, grating couplers, and gold film to a polymeric substrate using the silicon stamp.
• Monitoring self-assembly of functional thiol derivatives (mercapto-PEG) via surface plasmon spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• Successful one-step transfer of integrated microfluidic and grating structures onto a polymeric substrate.
• Efficient coupling of laser light to surface plasmons within the micro-channels due to the grating profile.
• Transferred gold surfaces exhibited properties similar to freshly cleaned surfaces.
• Demonstrated comparable performance to conventional grating-coupled SPR sensor chips.

Conclusions:

• The developed disposable polymeric sensor chip offers a promising platform for SPR sensing.
• The integrated microfluidic and grating coupling approach enables efficient and sensitive detection.
• This technology has potential applications in various fields requiring rapid and disposable biosensing.