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Updated: Jun 8, 2026
Use of Label-free Optical Biosensors to Detect Modulation of Potassium Channels by G-protein Coupled Receptors
Published on: February 10, 2014
Low-cost label-free biosensors using photonic crystals embedded between crossed polarizers
Yousef Nazirizadeh1, Uwe Bog, Sylwia Sekula
1Institute of Electrical and Information Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24143 Kiel, Germany. yn@tf.uni-kiel.de
Abstract:
There is a strong need for low-cost biosensors to enable rapid, on-site analysis of biological, biomedical, or chemical substances. We propose a platform for label-free optical biosensors based on applying the analyte onto a surface-functionalized photonic crystal slab and performing a transmission measurement with two crossed polarization filters. This dark-field approach allows for efficient background suppression as only the photonic crystal guided-mode resonances interacting with the functionalized surface experience significant polarization rotation. We present a compact biosensor demonstrator using a low-cost light emitting diode and a simple photodiode capable of detecting the binding kinetics of a 2.5 nM solution of the protein streptavidin on a biotin-functionalized photonic crystal surface.
