Interface Sensitized Optical Microfiber Biosensors

Abstract

Sensitivity is an important parameter to characterize the performance of sensors. Interfacial modification and functionalization is an effective strategy to improve the sensitivity of optical biosensors. This paper reports our recent development on interface sensitized fiber optic biosensors for the detection of ultra-low concentration of biological targets. We employ microfiber mode interferometer as transducer to sense the molecular binding interaction induced surrounding refractive index change. By modifying the microfiber surface to increase the assembling surface area and enhance the evanescent field energy density, ultra-low limit of detection of 1.65 × 10 −15 M and 6.82 × 10 −17 M, respectively, were realized for neurotransmitter γ-amino-butyric acid and cellular cytochrome c.

Micro-/Nanofiber Optics: Merging Photonics and Material Science on Nanoscale for Advanced Sensing Technology

“…To data, a variety of physical, chemical, or biological optical MNF sensors have been demonstrated (Chen et al, 2018a(Chen et al, , 2019Guan and Huang, 2019;Kou et al, 2012;Lou et al, 2014;Talataisong et al, 2018;Tong, 2018;Wang et al, 2015a;Wu et al, 2018;Yan and Xu, 2017). Here we review the recent progress in optical MNF sensors regarding their fabrication, waveguide properties, and sensing applications.…”

Recent Progress in Microfiber-Optic Sensors

“…Thus far, a spate of microfiber-optic sensors have been demonstrated for various physical, chemical, and biological parameters (refractive index, temperature, humidity, magnetic field, etc.) [16,22,[37][38][39][40][41][42]. This review intends to summarize the recent progress in this field.…”

Rare Earth-Doped Microfiber Bragg Grating Refractive Index Sensor With Self-Photothermal Manipulation

“…Optical fiber sensors for the determination of ambient refractive index (RI) have attracted increasing attention due to their capability in mediating bio-chemo molecular reactions [1][2][3]. With the significantly strengthened evanescent field, microfiber further enables the interplay between the propagating light and surrounding medium and presents the higher interfacial RI sensitivity [4]. Moreover, the microfiber structure is intrinsically compatible with the communication fiber system, bridging the gap between fields of fiber optics and micro/nano-photonics [5][6][7][8].…”