Common-path interferometric label-free protein sensing with resonant dielectric nanostructures

TY - JOUR

T1 - Common-path interferometric label-free protein sensing with resonant dielectric nanostructures

AU - Barth, Isabel

AU - Conteduca, Donato

AU - Reardon, Christopher

AU - Johnson, Steven

AU - Krauss, Thomas F.

N1 - © The Author(s) 2020

PY - 2020/6/2

Y1 - 2020/6/2

N2 - Research toward photonic biosensors for point-of-care applications and personalized medicine is driven by the need for high-sensitivity, low-cost, and reliable technology. Among the most sensitive modalities, interferometry offers particularly high performance, but typically lacks the required operational simplicity and robustness. Here, we introduce a common-path interferometric sensor based on guided-mode resonances to combine high performance with inherent stability. The sensor exploits the simultaneous excitation of two orthogonally polarized modes, and detects the relative phase change caused by biomolecular binding on the sensor surface. The wide dynamic range of the sensor, which is essential for fabrication and angle tolerance, as well as versatility, is controlled by integrating multiple, tuned structures in the field of view. This approach circumvents the trade-off between sensitivity and dynamic range, typical of other phase-sensitive modalities, without increasing complexity. Our sensor enables the challenging label-free detection of procalcitonin, a small protein (13 kDa) and biomarker for infection, at the clinically relevant concentration of 1 pg mL−1, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 35. This result indicates the utility for an exemplary application in antibiotic guidance, and opens possibilities for detecting further clinically or environmentally relevant small molecules with an intrinsically simple and robust sensing modality.

AB - Research toward photonic biosensors for point-of-care applications and personalized medicine is driven by the need for high-sensitivity, low-cost, and reliable technology. Among the most sensitive modalities, interferometry offers particularly high performance, but typically lacks the required operational simplicity and robustness. Here, we introduce a common-path interferometric sensor based on guided-mode resonances to combine high performance with inherent stability. The sensor exploits the simultaneous excitation of two orthogonally polarized modes, and detects the relative phase change caused by biomolecular binding on the sensor surface. The wide dynamic range of the sensor, which is essential for fabrication and angle tolerance, as well as versatility, is controlled by integrating multiple, tuned structures in the field of view. This approach circumvents the trade-off between sensitivity and dynamic range, typical of other phase-sensitive modalities, without increasing complexity. Our sensor enables the challenging label-free detection of procalcitonin, a small protein (13 kDa) and biomarker for infection, at the clinically relevant concentration of 1 pg mL−1, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 35. This result indicates the utility for an exemplary application in antibiotic guidance, and opens possibilities for detecting further clinically or environmentally relevant small molecules with an intrinsically simple and robust sensing modality.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085927503&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41377-020-0336-6

DO - 10.1038/s41377-020-0336-6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85085927503

SN - 2095-5545

VL - 9

JO - Light: Science and Applications

JF - Light: Science and Applications

IS - 1

M1 - 96

ER -