Dielectric resonating microspheres for biosensing: An optical approach to a biological problem

Abstract

Detecting and identifying biomolecules or microorganisms in aqueous solutions are often a complex task requiring precious amounts of time. Decreasing this time while reducing costs and minimizing complexity is crucial for several applications in the life sciences and other fields and is the subject of extensive work by biologists and biomedical engineers around the world. Optical sensors, more specifically dielectric microspheres, have been proposed as suitable sensors for viruses, bacteria, and other biological analytes. This paper reviews initial key publications as well as the latest progress regarding such microspheres and their potential use as biological sensors. We cover recent work on fluorescent microspheres and their integration in microfluidic devices, while addressing the limitations and practical requirements of such biodiagnostics. Our aim in this paper is to appeal to both biologists and physicists, even if new to this field. We conclude by briefly suggesting ways of integrating dielectric microspheres and biosensing into college and university courses in both physics and in biology.