Distributed interferometric fiber tip biosensors for a multi-channel and label-free biomolecular interaction analysis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Optical Sensing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Label-free biosensing is crucial for real-time monitoring of biomolecular interactions.
• Existing methods often lack multiplexing capabilities for simultaneous multi-site measurements.
• Optical fiber sensors offer miniaturization and remote sensing potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement distributed optical fiber tip biosensor probes.
• To achieve simultaneous, label-free measurement of biomolecular interactions at multiple locations.
• To demonstrate a novel coherence multiplexing method for data separation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Fabry-Perot etalon biosensor probes at optical fiber tips.
• Functionalization of etalons with specific biomolecule capture layers.
• Implementation of coherence multiplexing using varying etalon lengths for data separation.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication and implementation of distributed fiber tip biosensor probes.
• Demonstration of simultaneous multi-channel recording of biomolecular interactions.
• Validation of the coherence multiplexing method for separating data from multiple biosensors.

Conclusions:

• The developed optical fiber tip biosensor probes enable simultaneous, label-free detection of biomolecular interactions.
• Coherence multiplexing is an effective strategy for multi-channel data acquisition in distributed fiber optic sensing.
• This technology holds promise for advanced diagnostics and biomolecular analysis.