Sensitivity comparison of surface plasmon resonance and plasmon-waveguide resonance biosensors

Abstract

Plasmon-waveguide resonance (PWR) sensors are particularly useful for investigation of biomolecular interactions with or within lipid bilayer membranes. Many studies demonstrated their ability to provide unique qualitative information, but the evaluation of their sensitivity as compared to other surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors has not been broadly investigated. We report here a comprehensive sensitivity comparison of SPR and PWR biosensors for the p-polarized light component. The sensitivity of five different biosensor designs to changes in refractive index, thickness and mass are determined and discussed. Although numerical simulations show an increase of the electric field intensity by 30–35 % and the penetration depth by four times in PWR, the waveguide-based method is 0.5 to 8 fold less sensitive than conventional SPR in all considered analytical parameters. The experimental results also suggest that the increase in the penetration depth in PWR is made at the expense of the surface sensitivity. The physical and structural reasons for PWR sensor limitations are discussed and a general viewpoint for designing more efficient SPR sensors based on dielectric slab waveguides is provided.

High-performance bimetallic film surface plasmon resonance sensor based on film thickness optimization

“…In the last two decades, many approaches were proposed to enhance the sensitivity, resolution and chemical stability of the SPR sensor. For example, by adding a top layer of dielectric thin film, the sensitivity of the guided-wave SPR sensor can be improved [8][9][10]. By using long-range surface plasmon, the high-resolution SPR sensors were realized [11][12][13][14].…”

Development of optical biosensor technologies for cardiac troponin recognition

“…Guided modes are highly sensitive to changes in the refractive index with both polarizations. 45,46 Fig. 1 shows a schematic of the plasmon waveguide resonance biosensor.…”

“…1 shows a schematic of the plasmon waveguide resonance biosensor. 45 accessed by following the link in the citation at the bottom of the page.…”

“…Schematic showing the plasmon waveguide resonance biosensor. 45 Various integrated optical SPR sensors using slab waveguides, channel waveguides, and even more waveguide structures have been developed. Fig.…”

Supported silver clusters as nanoplasmonic transducers for protein sensing

“…At the same time they are similar in size to some organic molecules such as enzymes and proteins, thus, being ideal transducers used in detection. Many state-of-the-art biosensors utilising LSPR were demonstrated to provide a relatively high degree of sensitivity [5]. However, there are still a number of aspects to be considered in order to produce a reliable and selective sensor.…”