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Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
Photonic crystal nanostructures for optical biosensing applications
D Dorfner1, T Zabel, T Hürlimann
1Walter Schottky Institut and Physik Department, Technische Universität München, Am Coulombwall 3, D-85748 Garching, Germany. dorfner@wsi.tum.de
Biosensors & Bioelectronics
|June 9, 2009
Summary
We developed photonic crystal nanocavity drop filters as sensitive optical biosensors. These devices can detect minute amounts of adsorbed proteins, showing high potential for biological sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Optical biosensors are crucial for detecting biological analytes.
- Photonic crystals offer unique light manipulation properties for sensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate photonic crystal nanocavity drop filters for optical biosensing.
- To investigate the sensor's response to changes in refractive index and protein adsorption.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of photonic crystal nanocavity drop filters.
- Optical characterization using evanescent excitation via a photonic crystal waveguide.
- Coupling to a ridge waveguide for fluid flow cell integration.
- Studying resonant cavity mode wavelength and Q-factor shifts.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a sensor response of (4.54+/-0.66)x10^5 nm/M to refractive index changes.
- Achieved a detection limit of 4.0+/-0.6 fg for adsorbed proteins (bovine serum albumin).
- Quantified sensitivity as (4.9+/-0.7)x10^2 pg/mm^2 in the sensitive area.
Conclusions:
- Photonic crystal nanocavity drop filters show promise as highly sensitive optical biosensors.
- The demonstrated detection limits are suitable for various biological sensing applications.
- Integration with fluidics enables real-time monitoring of biomolecular interactions.
