Lossy Mode Resonance Based Microfluidic Platform Developed on Planar Waveguide for Biosensing Applications

Abstract

The development of resonance phenomena-based optical biosensors has gained relevance in recent years due to the excellent optical fiber properties and progress in the research on materials and techniques that allow resonance generation. However, for lossy mode resonance (LMR)-based sensors, the optical fiber presents disadvantages, such as the need for splicing the sensor head and the complex polarization control. To avoid these issues, planar waveguides such as coverslips are easier to handle, cost-effective, and more robust structures. In this work, a microfluidic LMR-based planar waveguide platform was proposed, and its use for biosensing applications was evaluated by detecting anti-immunoglobulin G (anti-IgG). In order to generate the wavelength resonance, the sensor surface was coated with a titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin-film. IgG antibodies were immobilized by covalent binding, and the detection assay was carried out by injecting anti-IgG in PBS buffer solutions from 5 to 20 μg/mL. The LMR wavelength shifted to higher values when increasing the analyte concentration, which means that the proposed system was able to detect the IgG/anti-IgG binding. The calibration curve was built from the experimental data obtained in three repetitions of the assay. In this way, a prototype of an LMR-based biosensing microfluidic platform developed on planar substrates was obtained for the first time.