Chapter 23 - Recent progress in therapeutic diagnosis using photonic crystal nanostructures

Abstract

The global need for rapid, sensitive, and noninvasive detection of proteins, antibodies, and pathogens in biological samples required therapeutic prognosis and diagnosis, and led to big challenges. Integration of nanotechnology with biophotonics may enable breakthroughs in sensing applications and overcome these challenges. Using photonic crystal (PC) nanostructures with their unique properties, such as controlling light in very small dimensions, slowing down the light, and consequent enhancement of light–matter interactions, and possibility of integrating with microfluidic channels, we have tremendous opportunities related to therapeutic diagnostics. In this chapter we will introduce the basics of PCs, their properties, and physical background as well as fabrication process in Section 1. In Section 5 we will discuss about biosensors and present examples of using PC nanostructures as biosensors. In Section 6, we will have a brief review of PC laser biosensors, then introduce lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices and present several demonstrations of using PCs in LOC devices. The chapter ends with a review of the highlights of the previous parts.