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Biosensors
Volume 16
Issue 3
10.3390/bios16030168
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Article

Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Biosensor for Quantitative, Highly Sensitive Detection of Proteins

by
Lorenzo Fiorentini
1,
Raouf Barboza
1,*,
Maria Logovatovskaya
1,
Elia Rocchetti
1,
Paolo Mariani
2 and
Liana Lucchetti
1,*
1
Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell’Ambiente ed Urbanistica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
2
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biosensors 2026, 16(3), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030168
Submission received: 20 February 2026 / Revised: 13 March 2026 / Accepted: 15 March 2026 / Published: 17 March 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Optical and Photonic Biosensors)
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Abstract

We report a highly sensitive label-free optical biosensor based on nematic liquid crystals, for the detection of proteins. The principles of biosensing are based on the change in the liquid crystal alignment induced by biomolecules adsorbed on the cell inner surface, which can be easily detected with a polarizing optical microscope. Although this approach is well-known, we propose here an experimental strategy that allows us to reach a detection limit of the order of 10−13 g/mL, orders of magnitude higher than the one reported in the literature for similar biosensors. Furthermore, our method leads to assessing a well-defined, specific dependence of protein concentration on cell birefringence, for rapid quantitative biosensing. The proposed biosensor can additionally be used for the detection of antibodies.
Keywords: nematic liquid crystals; optical biosensor; protein detection nematic liquid crystals; optical biosensor; protein detection

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fiorentini, L.; Barboza, R.; Logovatovskaya, M.; Rocchetti, E.; Mariani, P.; Lucchetti, L. Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Biosensor for Quantitative, Highly Sensitive Detection of Proteins. Biosensors 2026, 16, 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030168

AMA Style

Fiorentini L, Barboza R, Logovatovskaya M, Rocchetti E, Mariani P, Lucchetti L. Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Biosensor for Quantitative, Highly Sensitive Detection of Proteins. Biosensors. 2026; 16(3):168. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030168

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fiorentini, Lorenzo, Raouf Barboza, Maria Logovatovskaya, Elia Rocchetti, Paolo Mariani, and Liana Lucchetti. 2026. "Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Biosensor for Quantitative, Highly Sensitive Detection of Proteins" Biosensors 16, no. 3: 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030168

APA Style

Fiorentini, L., Barboza, R., Logovatovskaya, M., Rocchetti, E., Mariani, P., & Lucchetti, L. (2026). Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Biosensor for Quantitative, Highly Sensitive Detection of Proteins. Biosensors, 16(3), 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16030168

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