Sensors 2011, 11(4), 3780-3790; doi:10.3390/s110403780
Article

Tapered Optical Fiber Sensor for Label-Free Detection of Biomolecules

Ye Tian 1,* email, Wenhui Wang 1 email, Nan Wu 1 email, Xiaotian Zou 2 email and Xingwei Wang 1,2,* email
1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA 2 Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Doctoral Program, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 11 February 2011; in revised form: 23 March 2011 / Accepted: 25 March 2011 / Published: 28 March 2011
(This article belongs to the Section Biosensors)
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Abstract: This paper presents a fast, highly sensitive and low-cost tapered optical fiber biosensor that enables the label-free detection of biomolecules. The sensor takes advantage of the interference effect between the fiber’s first two propagation modes along the taper waist region. The biomolecules bonded on the taper surface were determined by demodulating the transmission spectrum phase shift. Because of the sharp spectrum fringe signals, as well as a relatively long biomolecule testing region, the sensor displayed a fast response and was highly sensitive. To better understand the influence of various biomolecules on the sensor, a numerical simulation that varied biolayer parameters such as thickness and refractive index was performed. The results showed that the spectrum fringe shift was obvious to be measured even when the biolayer was only nanometers thick. A microchannel chip was designed and fabricated for the protection of the sensor and biotesting. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication techniques were used to precisely control the profile and depth of the microchannel on the silicon chip with an accuracy of 2 μm. A tapered optical fiber biosensor was fabricated and evaluated with an Immune globulin G (IgG) antibody-antigen pair.
Keywords: optical fiber sensor; biosensor; label-free detection; evanescent wave; MEMS

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Tian, Y.; Wang, W.; Wu, N.; Zou, X.; Wang, X. Tapered Optical Fiber Sensor for Label-Free Detection of Biomolecules. Sensors 2011, 11, 3780-3790.

AMA Style

Tian Y, Wang W, Wu N, Zou X, Wang X. Tapered Optical Fiber Sensor for Label-Free Detection of Biomolecules. Sensors. 2011; 11(4):3780-3790.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tian, Ye; Wang, Wenhui; Wu, Nan; Zou, Xiaotian; Wang, Xingwei. 2011. "Tapered Optical Fiber Sensor for Label-Free Detection of Biomolecules." Sensors 11, no. 4: 3780-3790.

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