Extreme sensitivity label-free biosensing platform based on topologically disruptive phase nano-optics

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biosensing
• Plasmonics

Background:

• Label-free plasmonic biosensors are crucial for molecular biology and diagnostics.
• Conventional sensors struggle with low-molecular-weight biomolecules at low concentrations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel plasmonic biosensor platform for enhanced detection sensitivity.
• To overcome limitations of current biosensors in detecting small molecules at trace levels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized extremely small silver nanoparticles (<3 nm) in an ordered aluminum oxide matrix.
• Engineered sub-nanometer alignment and inter-particle spacing (<1 nm) covered by a gold film.
• Leveraged enhanced topological phase singularity for signal amplification.

Main Results:

• Achieved a maximum position shift of 554.3 µm with extreme sensitivity (3.27 × 10^8 nm RIU^-1).
• Demonstrated detection of 244 Da biotin at femtomolar concentrations.
• Successfully detected TNF-α biomarker at 100 zeptomolar (10^-21 mol L^-1) in real-time.

Conclusions:

• The novel plasmonic biosensor platform exhibits unprecedented sensitivity for low-molecular-weight biomolecules.
• This technology holds significant potential for early disease diagnostics and advanced molecular biology research.
• The enhanced topological phase singularity approach offers a promising strategy for future biosensor development.