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Determination of surface protein coverage by composite waveguide based polarimetric interferometry.

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  • 1State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

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Summary

A novel tapered tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) thin film waveguide sensor offers highly sensitive, low-cost detection of trace chemical and biochemical analytes. This polarimetric interferometer demonstrates excellent stability for real-time analysis.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Developing sensitive and cost-effective sensors for trace analyte detection is crucial in chemical and biochemical analysis.
  • Polarimetric interferometry offers a label-free detection method with high sensitivity.
  • Tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) thin films possess favorable optical properties for waveguide applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a simple, inexpensive, and highly sensitive polarimetric interferometer for trace chemical and biochemical analyte detection.
  • To characterize a tapered Ta2O5 thin film on a glass waveguide for sensor applications.
  • To determine the sensor's sensitivity to adlayer thickness and its performance in detecting biomolecular interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of a tapered Ta2O5 thin film on a single-mode, polarization-insensitive slab glass waveguide.
  • Utilizing polarimetric interferometry for real-time analyte detection.
  • Comparing experimental refractive-index sensitivity with simulated data from a four-layer waveguide model.
  • Investigating sensor response to bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption and antibody-antigen interactions in situ.

Main Results:

  • The tapered Ta2O5 thin film waveguide functions as a highly sensitive polarimetric interferometer.
  • Equivalent thickness of the Ta2O5 layer and adlayer sensitivity were determined by comparing experimental and simulated refractive-index sensitivities.
  • The sensor successfully detected unspecific BSA adsorption and specific antibody-antigen interactions, enabling surface coverage determination.
  • The developed sensor exhibits good long-term stability with minimal phase drift (< π over 10 hours).

Conclusions:

  • The tapered Ta2O5 thin film waveguide sensor is a promising platform for simple, cost-effective, and ultra-trace level detection of analytes.
  • The sensor's ability to quantify surface coverage through adlayer-thickness sensitivity is valuable for biochemical sensing.
  • The demonstrated stability and sensitivity highlight its potential for various analytical and diagnostic applications.