scholarly journals Demonstration of a Low-Cost and Portable Optical Cavity-Based Sensor through Refractive Index Measurements

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donggee Rho ◽  
Caitlyn Breaux ◽  
Seunghyun Kim

An optical cavity-based sensor using a differential detection method has been proposed for point-of-care diagnostics. We developed a low-cost and portable optical cavity-based sensor system using a 3D printer and off-the-shelf optical components. In this paper, we demonstrate the sensing capability of the portable system through refractive index measurements. Fabricated optical cavity samples were tested using the portable system and compared to simulation results. A referencing technique and digital low pass filtering were applied to reduce the noise of the portable system. The measurement results match the simulation results well and show the improved linearity and sensitivity by employing the differential detection method. The limit of detection achieved was 1.73 × 10−5 Refractive Index Unit (RIU), which is comparable to other methods for refractive index sensing.

Biosensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Donggee Rho ◽  
Seunghyun Kim

An optical cavity-based biosensor (OCB) has been developed for point-of-care (POC) applications. This label-free biosensor employs low-cost components and simple fabrication processes to lower the overall cost while achieving high sensitivity using a differential detection method. To experimentally demonstrate its limit of detection (LOD), we conducted biosensing experiments with streptavidin and C-reactive protein (CRP). The optical cavity structure was optimized further for better sensitivity and easier fluid control. We utilized the polymer swelling property to fine-tune the optical cavity width, which significantly improved the success rate to produce measurable samples. Four different concentrations of streptavidin were tested in triplicate, and the LOD of the OCB was determined to be 1.35 nM. The OCB also successfully detected three different concentrations of human CRP using biotinylated CRP antibody. The LOD for CRP detection was 377 pM. All measurements were done using a small sample volume of 15 µL within 30 min. By reducing the sensing area, improving the functionalization and passivation processes, and increasing the sample volume, the LOD of the OCB are estimated to be reduced further to the femto-molar range. Overall, the demonstrated capability of the OCB in the present work shows great potential to be used as a promising POC biosensor.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3985
Author(s):  
Nan Wan ◽  
Yu Jiang ◽  
Jiamei Huang ◽  
Rania Oueslati ◽  
Shigetoshi Eda ◽  
...  

A sensitive and efficient method for microRNAs (miRNAs) detection is strongly desired by clinicians and, in recent years, the search for such a method has drawn much attention. There has been significant interest in using miRNA as biomarkers for multiple diseases and conditions in clinical diagnostics. Presently, most miRNA detection methods suffer from drawbacks, e.g., low sensitivity, long assay time, expensive equipment, trained personnel, or unsuitability for point-of-care. New methodologies are needed to overcome these limitations to allow rapid, sensitive, low-cost, easy-to-use, and portable methods for miRNA detection at the point of care. In this work, to overcome these shortcomings, we integrated capacitive sensing and alternating current electrokinetic effects to detect specific miRNA-16b molecules, as a model, with the limit of detection reaching 1.0 femto molar (fM) levels. The specificity of the sensor was verified by testing miRNA-25, which has the same length as miRNA-16b. The sensor we developed demonstrated significant improvements in sensitivity, response time and cost over other miRNA detection methods, and has application potential at point-of-care.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gangqi Wang ◽  
Fengjie Zhu ◽  
Tingting Lang ◽  
Jianjun Liu ◽  
Zhi Hong ◽  
...  

Abstract In this paper, a terahertz (THz) biosensor based on all-metal metamaterial is theoretically investigated and experimentally verified. This THz metamaterial biosensor uses stainless steel materials that are manufactured via laser-drilling technology. The simulation results show that the maximum refractive index (RI) sensitivity and the figure of merit (FOM) of this metamaterial sensor are 294.95 GHz/RIU and 4.03, respectively. Then, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was chosen as the detection substance to assess this biosensor’s effectiveness. The experiment results show that the detection sensitivity is 72.81 GHz/(ng/mm2) and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.035 mg/mL. This THz metamaterial biosensor is simple, cost-effective, easy to fabricate, and have great potential in various biosensing applications.


2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Y Schaff ◽  
Greg J Sommer

BACKGROUND Centrifugal “lab on a disk” microfluidics is a promising avenue for developing portable, low-cost, automated immunoassays. However, the necessity of incorporating multiple wash steps results in complicated designs that increase the time and sample/reagent volumes needed to run assays and raises the probability of errors. We present proof of principle for a disk-based microfluidic immunoassay technique that processes blood samples without conventional wash steps. METHODS Microfluidic disks were fabricated from layers of patterned, double-sided tape and polymer sheets. Sample was mixed on-disk with assay capture beads and labeling antibodies. Following incubation, the assay beads were physically separated from the blood cells, plasma, and unbound label by centrifugation through a density medium. A signal-laden pellet formed at the periphery of the disk was analyzed to quantify concentration of the target analyte. RESULTS To demonstrate this technique, the inflammation biomarkers C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 were measured from spiked mouse plasma and human whole blood samples. On-disk processing (mixing, labeling, and separation) facilitated direct assays on 1-μL samples with a 15-min sample-to-answer time, <100 pmol/L limit of detection, and 10% CV. We also used a unique single-channel multiplexing technique based on the sedimentation rate of different size or density bead populations. CONCLUSIONS This portable microfluidic system is a promising method for rapid, inexpensive, and automated detection of multiple analytes directly from a drop of blood in a point-of-care setting.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 14s-14s
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Katchman ◽  
Joseph T. Smith ◽  
Jennifer Blain Christen ◽  
Karen S. Anderson

Abstract 62 One of the key roadblocks limiting the transition of high-sensitivity and high-specificity point-of-care technologies from the research laboratory to wide spread use is the availability of a low-cost-high-volume manufacturing technology. This work presents a new interdisciplinary approach combining low cost commercial display manufacturing technology with programmable high density protein microarray printing technology to fabricate disposable point-of-care immunosensors with clinical level sensitivity. Our approach is designed to leverage advances in commercial display technology to reduce pre-functionalized biosensor substrate costs to pennies per cm2, as well as to leverage the display industry’s ability to manufacture an immense number of low cost consumer electronic products annually. For this work, we demonstrate that our new approach can offer diagnostic sensitivity at or below 10 pg/mL, which approaches the lower limit of detection of typical clinical laboratory instrumentation. Our new approach is also designed to overcome the limited analytical sensitivity of existing POC devices (>100x improved sensitivity). It also contains new capability for multiplexed biomarker detection (>10 antigens) in a single low cost POC device through an innovative disposable and scalable architecture, based on flat panel display technology. Here, we demonstrate multiplexed detection of antibodies to the HPV16 proteins E2, E6, and E7, which are circulating biomarkers for cervical as well as head and neck cancers. This detection technology has 100 percent correlation to our current laboratory-based measurement instrumentation. AUTHORS' DISCLOSURES OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Benjamin A. Katchman Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: Arizona State University Joseph T. Smith Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: Arizona State University Jennifer Blain Christen Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: Arizona State University Karen S. Anderson Stock or Other Ownership: Provista Diagnostics Consulting or Advisory Role: Provista Diagnostics Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: Arizona State University


2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars D. Renner ◽  
Jindong Zan ◽  
Linda I. Hu ◽  
Manuel Martinez ◽  
Pedro J. Resto ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT An estimated 1.5 billion microbial infections occur globally each year and result in ∼4.6 million deaths. A technology gap associated with commercially available diagnostic tests in remote and underdeveloped regions prevents timely pathogen identification for effective antibiotic chemotherapies for infected patients. The result is a trial-and-error approach that is limited in effectiveness, increases risk for patients while contributing to antimicrobial drug resistance, and reduces the lifetime of antibiotics. This paper addresses this important diagnostic technology gap by describing a low-cost, portable, rapid, and easy-to-use microfluidic cartridge-based system for detecting the ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) bacterial pathogens that are most commonly associated with antibiotic resistance. The point-of-care molecular diagnostic system consists of a vacuum-degassed microfluidic cartridge preloaded with lyophilized recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays and a small portable battery-powered electronic incubator/reader. The isothermal RPA assays detect the targeted ESKAPE pathogens with high sensitivity (e.g., a limit of detection of ∼10 nucleic acid molecules) that is comparable to that of current PCR-based assays, and they offer advantages in power consumption, engineering, and robustness, which are three critical elements required for the point-of-care setting. IMPORTANCE This paper describes a portable system for rapidly identifying bacteria in resource-limited environments; we highlight the capabilities of the technology by detecting different pathogens within the ESKAPE collection, which cause nosocomial infections. The system is designed around isothermal DNA-based assays housed within an autonomous plastic cartridge that are designed with the end user in mind, who may have limited technological training. Displaying excellent sensitivity and specificity, the assay systems that we demonstrate may enable future diagnoses of bacterial infection to guide the development of effective chemotherapies and may have a role in areas beyond health where rapid detection is valuable, including in industrial processing and manufacturing, food security, agriculture, and water quality testing.


Cellulose ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (13) ◽  
pp. 7691-7701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anusha Prabhu ◽  
M. S. Giri Nandagopal ◽  
Prakash Peralam Yegneswaran ◽  
Hardik Ramesh Singhal ◽  
Naresh Kumar Mani

Abstract We present a high resolution, ultra-frugal printing of paper microfluidic devices using in-house paraffin formulation on a simple filter paper. The patterns printed using an office inkjet printer formed a selective hydrophobic barrier of 4 ± 1 µm thickness with a hydrophilic channel width of 275 µm. These printed patterns effectively confine common aqueous solutions and solvents, which was verified by solvent compatibility studies. SEM analysis reveals that the solvent confinement is due to pore blockage in the filter paper. The fabricated paper-based device was validated for qualitative assessment of Candida albicans (pathogenic fungi) by using a combination of L-proline β-naphthylamide as the substrate and cinnamaldehyde as an indicator. Our studies reveal that the pathogenic fungi can be detected within 10 min with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.86 × 106 cfu/mL. Owing to its simplicity, this facile method shows high potential and can be scaled up for developing robust paper-based devices for biomarker detection in resource-limited settings. Graphic abstract


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 3564
Author(s):  
Ary V. R. Portes ◽  
Ana J. L. Martins ◽  
Jesus Alvarez Guerrero ◽  
Mauricio M. Carvalho ◽  
Ferney O. Amaya-Fernandez ◽  
...  

In this work, we present an interferometric polymer-based electro-optical device, integrated with an embedded double-monolayer graphene capacitor for biosensing applications. An external voltage across the capacitor applies an electric field to the graphene layers modifying their surface charge density and the Fermi level position in these layers. This in turn changes the electro-optic properties of the graphene layers making absorption in the waveguide tunable with external voltages. Simultaneously, it is possible to appreciate that this phenomenon contributes to the maximization of the light-graphene interaction by evanescent wave in the sensing area. As a result, it is obtained large phase changes at the output of the interferometer, as a function of small variations in the refractive index in the cladding area, which significantly increasing the sensitivity of the device. The optimum interaction length obtained was 1.24 cm considering a cladding refractive index of 1.33. An absorption change of 129 dB/mm was demonstrated. This result combined with the photonic device based on polymer technology may enable a low-cost solution for biosensing applications in Point of Care (PoC) platform.


Chemosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Chia-Ming Yang ◽  
Jia-Yuan Chang ◽  
Min-Yi Chen ◽  
Chao-Sung Lai

To evaluate point-of-care testing (POCT) for the potential early detection of biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease, a systematic investigation of portable and low-cost platforms is performed based on the Proton-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Proton-ELISA) methodology. The detection of the α-synuclein antigen was first presented by biotin-relative linkers, and glucose substrate solution was first performed with a systematic experimental design to optimize the sensing results. All materials in this study are commercially available. Three different experiments with the partitional check were performed to investigate the Proton-ELISA platform, including proton catalyzed efficiency, blocking efficiency, and full Proton-ELISA procedure. The response time was selected as 15 min by the time-dependent curves of a full reaction. The limit of detection of conventional ELISA kits is 0.169 ng/mL, which is much lower than the Proton-ELISA results. The final response of the full Proton-ELISA procedure to pH changes was approximately 0.60 and 0.12 for α-synuclein antigen concentrations of 100 ng/mL and 4 ng/mL, respectively. With the partitional check, pH changes of pure glucose substrate and conjugated oxidase and interference of the nonspecific binding are 1.7 and 0.04, respectively. The lower pH changes far from the partitional check results can be concluded for the properties of glucose oxidase conjugation, including the isoelectric point and binding affinity modification by the testing environment. This preliminary guideline can be used as a lesson learnt to speed up following studies of the evaluation and optimization of other antigen detection. Therefore, Proton-ELISA can be suggested for some special applications with the help of custom-designed conjugation in the environment with less degradation or interference and a proper detection concentration range.


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