Novel refractive index biosensing of microcontact printed molecules on lithium niobate

This work demonstrates, for the first time, the use of lithium niobate as a biosensor that detects local refractive index changes triggered by the presence of biomolecules on its surface. The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be 242±16 nm/RIU. As a case study, we immobilized proteins (IgG antibodies) using micro-contact printing to demonstrate sensing capabilities of the device. The validated proof of concept lays a foundation for developing lithium niobate based novel optical biosensors.