All-metal terahertz metamaterial biosensor for protein detection

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Terahertz (THz) biosensors offer label-free detection capabilities.
• Metamaterials provide unique electromagnetic properties for sensing applications.
• Developing cost-effective and sensitive biosensors is crucial for early disease diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically investigate and experimentally verify an all-metal metamaterial biosensor operating in the terahertz frequency range.
• To assess the biosensor's performance using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model analyte.
• To evaluate the fabrication feasibility and potential applications of the developed biosensor.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical investigation and simulation of an all-metal metamaterial structure using stainless steel.
• Fabrication of the metamaterial sensor utilizing laser-drilling technology.
• Experimental characterization of the biosensor's response to varying concentrations of bovine serum albumin.

Main Results:

• The metamaterial sensor achieved a maximum refractive index sensitivity of 294.95 GHz/RIU and a figure of merit of 4.03.
• Experimental results demonstrated a detection sensitivity of 72.81 GHz/(ng/mm²) for BSA.
• The limit of detection for BSA was determined to be 0.035 mg/mL.

Conclusions:

• The developed terahertz metamaterial biosensor is simple, cost-effective, and easy to fabricate.
• The sensor exhibits high sensitivity and a low limit of detection, showing significant potential for various biosensing applications.
• This work contributes to the advancement of THz sensing technologies for biological and medical diagnostics.