Self-Referenced SPR Sensing using Multiple Surface-Plasmon Modes

杰弗里·T表面等离子体共振技术已经成为一种广泛应用的无标记技术，用于检测和研究生物和化学相互作用。 然而，一个根本性的挑战仍然没有解决：如何区分非特异性效应（温度波动，溶液折射率变化，干扰物的非特异性结合等）。和目标分析物的检测？ 这个问题目前限制了表面等离子体共振在复杂生物样品中的有效性，以及对于需要现场部署传感器的医疗、环境、食品安全和国防应用的有效性。 这项研究工作通过开发一种基于同时耦合到多个表面等离子体模式的自参考传感器平台来解决这一挑战。 将首次设计微结构支持的表面等离子体波的电磁场分布和色散关系，以区分多种生物和化学过程。 将这种自参考方法与传感器表面上抗体的定向固定相结合，将提供一种系统，该系统选择性地检测复杂溶液中病原菌（如大肠杆菌和炭疽杆菌）的存在。 更广泛的影响：新的传感器平台将更好地服务于社会在药物发现、医疗诊断、食品质量保证和生化防御方面的需求。 从教育的角度来看，该项目提供了一个固有的跨学科领域的研究生培训，同时加强了肯塔基州的纳米科学与工程中心的多学科合作伙伴关系。 该项目还作为一个示范平台，针对来自肯塔基州的阿巴拉契亚地区的高中学生的多样性推广工作，并为一个新的微型和纳米光子学本科课程提供连接与肯塔基州的本科纳米工程证书课程（NECP）。

Jeffrey T. HastingsUniversity of Kentucky0601351AbstractIntellectual Merit: Surface-plasmon resonance has become a widely used, label free technique to detect and study biological and chemical interactions. Nevertheless, a fundamental challenge remains unresolved: How does one differentiate between non-specific effects (temperature fluctuations, solution refractive index changes, non-specific binding of interferents, etc.) and detection of a target analyte? This problem currently limits the effectiveness of surface-plasmon resonance in complex biological samples and for medical, environmental, food safety, and defense applications that require field deployable sensors. This research effort addresses this challenge by developing a self-referencing sensor platform based on simultaneous coupling to multiple surface-plasmon modes. For the first time, the electromagnetic field distributions and dispersion relations of surface-plasmon waves supported by microstructures will be engineered to distinguish multiple biological and chemical processes. Combining this self-referencing approach with oriented immobilization of antibodies on the sensor surface will provide a system that selectively detects the presence of pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus anthracis in complex solutions. Broader Impacts: The new sensor platform will better serve society's needs in drug discovery, medical diagnosis, food quality assurance, and bio-chemical defense. From an educational perspective, the project provides graduate training in an inherently interdisciplinary field while strengthening multi-disciplinary partnerships in the University of Kentucky's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The project also serves as a demonstration platform for a diversity outreach effort targeting high-school students from Kentucky's Appalachian regions and for a new Micro- and Nano-Photonics undergraduate course offered in connection with the University of Kentucky's undergraduate Nanoscale Engineering Certificate Program (NECP).