High-Sensitivity 3D ZIF-8/PDA Photonic Crystal-Based Biosensor for Blood Component Recognition

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biosensing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Optical biosensors are crucial for bioanalytical detection, particularly for analyzing blood constituents vital for diagnosing diseases like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders.
• Accurate detection of blood components aids in early disease diagnosis and monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, simulate, and evaluate a novel three-dimensional photonic crystal-based biosensor for detecting various blood components.
• To optimize the biosensor's performance by analyzing design parameters like zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoarray dimensions and polydopamine (PDA) layer thickness.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method for designing and simulating the photonic crystal biosensor.
• Investigated the sensor's response to 10 different blood components, including glucose, hemoglobin, and plasma.
• Optimized structural parameters such as ZIF-8 array radius, lattice constant, thickness, and PDA layer thickness.

Main Results:

• The polydopamine (PDA) layer thickness was identified as the most critical parameter influencing the peak wavelength value (PWV).
• Achieved high performance metrics: sensitivity of 171 nm/RIU, full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 7.62 nm, and figure of merit (FOM) of 22.5 RIU⁻¹.
• Demonstrated a significant shift of 80 nm in maximum peak wavelength for a 0.01 nm refractive index change, indicating a high detection limit of 0.004 RIU.

Conclusions:

• The developed ZIF-8/PDA photonic crystal biosensor offers a highly sensitive and effective platform for blood component analysis.
• The sensor's performance highlights its potential for advanced bioanalytical detection and disease diagnostics.
• Further optimization of PDA thickness is key to enhancing the biosensor's peak wavelength detection capabilities.