Experimental investigation of evanescence-based infrared biodetection technique for micro-total-analysis systems

The advent of microoptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS) and its integration with other technologies such as microfluidics, microthermal, immunoproteomics, etc. has led to the concept of an integrated micro-total-analysis systems (microTAS) or Lab-on-a-Chip for chemical and biological applications. Recently, research and development of microTAS have attained a significant growth rate over several biodetection sciences, in situ medical diagnoses, and point-of-care testing applications. However, it is essential to develop suitable biophysical label-free detection methods for the success, reliability, and ease of use of the microTAS. We proposed an infrared (IR)-based evanescence wave detection system on the silicon-on-insulator platform for biodetection with microTAS. The system operates on the principle of bio-optical interaction that occurs due to the evanescence of light from the waveguide device. The feasibility of biodetection has been experimentally investigated by the detection of horse radish peroxidase upon its reaction with hydrogen peroxide.