Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Biosensor Research Articles

A label-free lateral offset spliced coreless fiber MZI biosensor based on hydrophobin HGFI for TNF-α detection.

A real-time label-free lateral offset spliced coreless fiber (CF) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) biosensor functionalized with hydrophobin Grifola frondosa I (HGFI) was proposed for the detection of cytokine tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). The nanolayer self-assembled on the optical fiber surfaces by HGFI rendered the immobilization of probe TNF-α antibody and recognition of antigen TNF-α. Trifluoroacetic acid was utilized to remove the HGFI layer from the glass surface, which was validated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and water contact angle (WCA). Results demonstrated that the processes of HGFI modification, antibody immobilization and specific antibody detection can be monitored in real time. The proposed biosensor exhibited good specificity, repeatability and low detection limit for TNF-α, extending its application in inflammation and disease monitoring.

Hybrid plasmon waveguide for highly sensitive biosensing

A hybrid plasmon waveguide (HPWG) consisting of a gold layer, a 100-nm high nanogap, and a SiN layer with a high refractive index on a SiO2 / Si substrate was designed by simulation and was applied in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer biosensor. For the incidence of a transverse magnetic (TM) mode light, a strongly enhanced electric field in the nanogap region caused by the modified surface plasmon enabled highly sensitive detection at the metal/solution interface. In contrast, the transverse electric (TE) mode enabled a high bulk-sensitivity due to the evanescent field in the nanogap. The HPWG structure was formed by electron beam lithography and electrochemical sacrificial layer etching. The output intensity of the fabricated device oscillated upon the replacement of the medium in the nanogap for both TE and TM mode excitations, which agreed with the obtained simulation results. Furthermore, the hybridization of DNA on the gold surface was detected, demonstrating that the HPWG structure is applicable to use in biosensing.

Spatially selective biomolecules immobilization on silicon nitride waveguides through contact printing onto plasma treated photolithographic micropattern: Step-by-step analysis with TOF-SIMS chemical imaging

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry has been employed to characterize micropatterning of aminosilane layer by photolithography and oxygen plasma treatment to achieve spatially selective biofunctionalization of Si3N4 waveguides surface corresponding to the sensing arm area of Mach-Zehnder interferometric biosensors integrated on silicon-chip. Si3N4 surface with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) layer was examined after photolithography, plasma treatment, photoresist removal, and after robotic spotting with biotinylated bovine serum albumin (BSA), blocking with BSA and specific binding of streptavidin. TOF-SIMS chemical imaging and microanalysis provided an inside view regarding the resolution and selectivity of surface modification after each step of both the APTES layer patterning and biofunctionalization procedures. More particular, the effective APTES removal and surface oxidization to create 20-µm wide APTES stripes through photolithography and oxygen plasma treatment was demonstrated. Exclusive adsorption of biotinylated-BSA on the APTES stripes through spotting of the patterned surface is then revealed, followed by a preferential but not exclusive BSA adsorption during the blocking step. The pattern was clearly developed through exclusive streptavidin binding to biotinylated-BSA only onto the APTES regions. The proposed spatially-selective biofunctionalization, performed with biotinylated-BSA, was demonstrated for the Si3N4 waveguide surface of an integrated on chip interferometric biosensor sensing arm for the detection of streptavidin.

AFM1 Detection in Milk by Fab' Functionalized Si3N4 Asymmetric Mach-Zehnder Interferometric Biosensors.

Aflatoxins (AF) are naturally occurring mycotoxins, produced by many species of Aspergillus. Among aflatoxins, Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is one of the most frequent and dangerous for human health. The acceptable maximum level of AFM1 in milk according to EU regulation is 50 ppt, equivalent to 152 pM, and 25 ppt, equivalent to 76 pM, for adults and infants, respectively. Here, we study a photonic biosensor based on SiN asymmetric Mach–Zehnder Interferometers (aMZI) functionalized with Fab’ for AFM1 detection in milk samples (eluates). The minimum concentration of AFM1 detected by our aMZI sensors is 48 pM (16.8 pg/mL) in purified and concentrated milk samples. Moreover, the real-time detection of the ligand-analyte binding enables the study of the kinetics of the reaction. We measured the kinetic rate constants of the Fab’-AFM1 interaction.

Numerical study of nanoscale biosensor based on surface plasmon polariton propagation in Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure

In this paper, we numerically investigate a nanoscale plasmonic biosensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometry. The operation of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) biosensor is examined based on two methods. In the first method, in which the transmission of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes is investigated under different refractive indices of sample medium as well as different dimensions, the best transmission rate achieved about 56.6% which is resulted by refractive index variation about 0.045 for the length 12 μm and width 80 nm of the gold layer. Also, the sensitivity, figure of merit (FOM) and quality factor (Q-factor) of MZI are examined for different geometries by utilizing the alternative method. It is realized that for the constant length, increasing the thickness of gold layer has significantly led to increased Q-factor and FOM. On the other hand, considering fixed thickness of the Au layer and three different lengths, the major outcome is that as the length of biosensor increases, the sensitivity, Q-factor as well as FOM follow an upward trend. Finally, inserting two distinct additional gold layers on top of the main gold layer, resulted in an extreme increase for the sensitivity and FOM of the plasmonic MZI biosensors with respect to the MZI biosensor without additional layer.

Human IgG detection in serum on polymer based Mach-Zehnder interferometric biosensors.

We report a new method for detecting human IgG (hIgG) in serum on integrated-optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer biosensors realized in a high index contrast polymer material system. In the linear range of the sensor (5-200 nM) we observed excellent signal recoveries (95-110%) in buffer and serum samples, which indicate the absence of matrix effects. Signal enhancement was reached by using secondary anti-human IgG antibodies, which bind to immobilized target IgGs and allow detecting concentrations down to 100 pM. This polymer based optical sensor is fully compatible with cost-efficient mass production technologies, which makes it an attractive alternative to inorganic optical sensors. Graphical abstract of the hIgG measured on polymer based photonic sensors using a direct binding assay and a signal enhancement strategy with secondary antibodies.

Optical biosensors with an integrated Mach-Zehnder Interferometer for detection of Listeria monocytogenes

In this work, we have demonstrated an efficient optical immunoassay technique for the detection of a food-borne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, using a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) configuration. We have investigated ten different MZI configurations with angular and Sbend Y-junction geometries. An efficient Hydrofluoric acid (HF) based technique was used for rapid and specific binding of L. monocytogenes to the sensor arm of the MZI biosensor. The MZI biosensor was able to detect L. monocytogenes at concentrations of the order of 10(5) CFU/ml, which is lower than the infection dose for healthy human beings. SEM analysis and light intensity measurements showed the biosensor is highly selective to L. monocytogenes over other microbial species (such as Escherichia coli). Finally, a novel calibration scheme of the MZI biosensor was developed from experimental data that can be used for determining unknown concentrations of L. monocytogenes.

Grating couplers integrated on Mach-Zehnder interferometric biosensors operating in the visible range

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of submicronic grating couplers integrated on Si <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> N <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> rib waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) for biosensing applications working in the visible spectral range for both TE and TM polarizations. Depending on the waveguide structure, a maximum of 11.5% of coupling efficiency has been experimentally obtained at 658 nm, while a limit of detection of 1.6 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-7</sup> in refractive index unit is achieved for the biosensor. These results represent an important milestone toward the achievement of a truly portable and multiplexed point-of-care platform using the integrated MZI sensor.

Thermal independent Silicon-Nitride slot waveguide biosensor with high sensitivity

As the sensitivity and detection limit of photonic refractive index (RI) biosensor increases, the temperature dependence becomes a major challenge. In this paper, we present a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) biosensor based on silicon nitride slot waveguides. The biosensor is designed for minimal temperature dependence without compromising the performance in terms of sensitivity and detection limit. With air cladding, the measured surface sensitivity and detection limit of MZI biosensor reach 7.16 nm/(ng mm(-2)) and 1.30 (pg mm(-2)), while achieving a low temperature dependence is 5.0 pm/° C. With water cladding, the measured bulk sensitivity and detection limit reach 1730(2π)/RIU and 1.29 × 10(-5) RIU respectively. By utilizing Vernier effect through cascaded MZI structures, the measured sensitivity enhancement factor is 8.38, which results in a surface detection limit of 0.155 (pg mm(-2)).

Integrated polymer-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer label-free streptavidin biosensor compatible with injection molding

We report the development of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer biosensor based on a high index contrast polymer material system and the demonstration of label-free online measurement of biotin–streptavidin binding on the sensor surface. The surface of the polyimide waveguide core layer was functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxy silane and malemide tagged biotin. Several concentrations of Chromeon 642-streptavidin dissolved in phosphate buffered saline solution were rinsed over the functionalized sensor surface by means of a fluidic system and the biotin-streptavidin binding process was observed in the output signal of the interferometer at a wavelength of 1310 nm. Despite the large wavelength and the comparatively low surface sensitivity of the sensor system due to the low index contrast in polymer material systems compared to inorganic material systems, we were able to resolve streptavidin concentrations of down to 0.1 μg/ml. The polymer-based optical sensor design is fully compatible with cost-efficient mass production technologies such as injection molding and spin coating, which makes it an attractive alternative to inorganic optical sensors.