Design and simulation of a photonic crystal resonator as a biosensor for point-of-care applications

Abstract

Abstract Point-of-care (POC) devices are essential for rapid testing of samples for early diagnosis of diseases. The accuracy and the sensitivity of the POC device depend mainly on the biosensors. The currently used POC devices require specialized operating personnel, long sample preparation time and high equipment costs. We aim to explain a bio-sensing concept using a photonic crystal (PC) resonator that would mitigate the drawbacks of the present sensing techniques. Photonic crystals consist of spatially arranged dielectric materials presenting a band gap that prevents electromagnetic waves of certain frequency range to propagate through it. PC resonators have shown to have very high sensitivities for bio-sensing applications at THz frequencies. A PC resonator with a high Q-factor is designed and simulated to detect the changes in the surrounding dielectric permittivity. As an application for detecting specific biomolecules, a protocol for surface functionalization has been explained. This will enable the selective binding of biomolecules from the sample. Shift in resonant frequency and attenuation in magnitude at the peak resonant frequency can be observed from the simulation results. These changes in the resonator properties can be indicative of the presence of a particular biomolecule or pathogen and its concentration within the sample.