Liquid Crystal Microcavity Biosensors for Real-Time Liver Injury Monitoring via Whispering Gallery Mode Laser

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Optical Biosensing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Real-time monitoring of liver injury is crucial for health preservation.
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is a key biomarker for early liver injury diagnosis.
• Existing ALT detection methods are often complex, costly, and lack sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective biosensor for real-time ALT detection.
• To utilize functionalized liquid crystal microcavities with whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasers for enhanced biosensing.
• To validate the biosensor's performance for early liver injury assays.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a liquid crystal microcavity functionalized with stearic acid.
• Utilizing whispering gallery mode (WGM) laser for optical detection of ALT-catalyzed reactions.
• Experimental analysis of WGM spectra and polarized optical microscopy.
• In vitro and in vivo validation using varying ALT concentrations and mouse serum samples.

Main Results:

• The functionalized microcavity showed distinct optical responses to ALT concentrations.
• A strong linear correlation was observed between ALT concentration and reaction time (0-240 U/l).
• The biosensor achieved a sensitivity of 0.67 s/(U/l).
• In vivo results in mouse serum were consistent with commercial assay kits.

Conclusions:

• The developed WGM laser-based liquid crystal microcavity biosensor provides a simple, cost-effective, and efficient method for ALT detection.
• This technology holds significant promise for early liver injury diagnosis and real-time monitoring.
• Liquid crystal microcavities are a viable platform for advanced biosensing applications.