SPIE Society has published a technical paper by Brian Cunningham, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in which he discusses his group’s efforts to develop a novel class of diagnostic sensors that are based on photonic crystals (PC).
We have developed a new class of biosensors based on optical devices known as photonic crystals (PCs) that can be used for both label-free and fluorescence-based detection. The key attributes for acceptance of new technology in these fields are sensitivity (how low a concentration of a chemical, protein, or gene may be detected), cost per test, and throughput (the number of tests that can be performed at once). PCs represent a unique and versatile class of optical devices for manipulating the electromagnetic fields associated with light. Through the proper application of PC design and fabrication, electromagnetic fields may be confined and concentrated to enhance the interaction between light and biological material in contact with the PC. We have developed methods that enable PC biosensors to be inexpensively produced in plastic, as well as associated instrumentation. Combined, the biosensors and detection instruments enable high-throughput detection of biochemical binding kinetics, imaging large arrays of biochemical tests, and imaging detection of cells.
Full article: Novel biosensors from photonic crystals …
