C-RUI: Development and Applications of a Novel Biosensor

这个多学科合作项目的目标是开发用于检测化学和生物样品的光学传感器，该项目将在一所本科院校进行。应用包括检测废水或环境样品中的生物/毒素，空气传播危害以及独特的基因序列。这些装置预计价格低廉，坚固耐用，灵敏度超过传统的表面等离子体共振传感器。传感器的设计依赖于一种新的表面波技术，该技术利用了光子带隙材料（PBG）的表面波共振。PBG表面波技术的范围和局限性将使用标准基准实验进行测试。传感器的物理与工程、化学与分析、生物方面的发展将同时取得进展。因此，仪器的开发、PBG性质预测、多功能界面层和适当基因序列的选择将是最初的工作重点。然后，各种特定的生物结合对将通过具有光图像化和化学分化能力的有机硅氧烷偶联到表面，最终形成多分析物传感器。纳米技术的进步使复杂的生物传感装置成为可能，然而，对提高探测器灵敏度和特异性的需求日益增加。该项目的方法是让学生解决生物传感器的基础科学问题，为特定应用开发原理传感器的证明，并利用学科之间的合作。参与研究项目的学生将在培养特定学科的实验室技能的同时，为日益多学科的科学和技术部门接受培训。

The goal of this multidisciplinary collaborative project, to be carried at an undergraduate institution, is to develop optical sensors for the detection of chemical and biological samples. Applications include detection of organisms/toxins in wastewater or environmental samples, airborne hazards, as well as, unique genetic sequences. These devices are expected to be inexpensive and robust with sensitivities exceeding that of conventional surface plasmon resonance sensors. The sensor design relies on a new surface wave technique that utilizes surface wave resonance in photonic band gap materials (PBG). The scope and limitations of the PBG surface wave technique will be tested using standard benchmark experiments. The progress will be made in the physics and engineering, chemical and analytical, and biological aspects of the sensor development simultaneously. Thus, development of instrumentation, PBG property prediction, a versatile interfacial layer and selection of appropriate genetic sequences will be the initial foci of effort. Then, a variety of specific biological binding pairs will be coupled to the surface via organosiloxanes that are capable of photopatterning and chemical differentiation, culminating in a multianalyte sensor. Advances in nanotechnology have made complex biosensing devices possible, however, there is an increasing need for improved detector sensitivity and specificity. The approach of this project is to involve students to address the fundamental science of biosensors, develop proof of principle sensors for specific applications, and capitalize upon collaboration among disciplines. Students participating in the research project will be trained for the increasingly multidisciplinary science and technology sector as they develop discipline-specific laboratory skills.