Plasmonic Coupling on an Optical Microfiber Surface: Enabling Single-Molecule and Noninvasive Dopamine Detection

Optical fibers can be effective biosensors when employed in early-stage diagnostic point-of-care devices as they can avoid interference from molecules with similar redox potentials. Nevertheless, their sensitivity needs to be improved for real-world applications, especially for small-molecule detection. This work demonstrates an optical microfiber biosensor for dopamine (DA) detection based on the DA-binding-induced aptamer conformational transitions that occur at plasmonic coupling sites on a double-amplified nanointerface. The sensor exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity when detecting DA molecules at the single-molecule level; additionally, this work provides an approach for overcoming optical device sensitivity limits, further extending optical fiber single-molecule detection to a small molecule range (e.g., DA and metal ions). The selective energy enhancement and signal amplification at the binding sites effectively avoid nonspecific amplification of the whole fiber surface which may lead to false-positive results. The sensor can detect single-molecule DA signals in body-fluids. It can detect the released extracellular DA levels and monitor the DA oxidation process. An appropriate aptamer replacement allows the sensor to be used for the detection of other target small molecules and ions at the single-molecule level. This technology offers alternative opportunities for developing noninvasive early-stage diagnostic point-of-care devices and flexible single-molecule detection techniques in theoretical research.