Tunable and Sensitive Detection of Cortisol Using Anisotropic Phosphorene with a Surface Plasmon Resonance Technique: Numerical Investigation

Vipin Kumar Verma,Conrad Rizal,Sarika Pal,Yogendra Kumar Prajapati

doi:10.3390/magnetochemistry8030031

Vipin Kumar Verma, Conrad Rizal + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry8030031

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Abstract

Tunable and ultrasensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are highly desirable for monitoring stress hormones such as cortisol, a steroid hormone formed in the human body’s adrenal glands. This paper describes the detection of cortisol using a bimetallic SPR sensor based on a highly anisotropic two-dimensional material, i.e., phosphorene. Thicknesses of bi-metal layers, such as copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni), are optimized to achieve strong SPR excitation. The proposed sensor is rotated in-plane with a rotation angle (φ) around the z-axis to obtain the phosphorene anisotropic behavior. The performance parameters of the sensor are demonstrated in terms of higher sensitivity (347.78 °/RIU), maximum angular figure of merit (FOM* = 1780.3), and finer limit of detection (0.026 ng/mL). Furthermore, a significant penetration depth (203 nm) is achieved for the proposed sensor. The obtained results of the above parameters indicate that the proposed sensor outperforms the previously reported papers in the literature on cortisol detection using the SPR technique.

Highlights

Cortisol is a steroid hormone and is commonly referred to as the stress hormone because of its connection to the stress response of human beings
We have verified the sensor performance attaining in maximal sensitivity forfor a few
Relying on high adsorption energy, unique sensing ability, and the selectivity of phosphorene for cortisol concentration and benefitting from tunable performance arising from the anisotropy of phosphorene, we reported tunable and sensitive cortisol detection using a surface plasmon resonance sensor configuration

Summary

Introduction

Cortisol is a steroid hormone and is commonly referred to as the stress hormone because of its connection to the stress response of human beings. The cortisol level in blood and saliva impacts the cardiovascular processes, blood pressure, and many other metabolic activities [1]. A rise in cortisol level may cause Cushing syndrome—a fatty hump between shoulders, a rounded face, and various stretch marks on the skin. Cortisol insufficiency can cause Addison disease—an uncommon disorder that occurs when the body cannot produce enough of certain hormones [1]. Measuring cortisol levels is necessary for determining its deficiency, saturation levels and identifying various disorders linked to it. Cortisol levels can be determined using a variety of body fluids, including blood (invasive) and saliva (non-invasive) [1,2]. Its status in the saliva is straightforward to measure because these samples keep their original properties for at least a week or more [1]

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