Nanostructured High Surface Area Sensor Systems for Enhanced Detection

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Objective: The objective of this program is to develop nanostructured coatings, nanoparticles, and plasmonic architectures that will lead to the development of fluorescence-based biosensor platforms for point-of-care diagnostics. Through the use of engineered plasmonic structures and nanostructured high surface area coatings, optimal field coupling to sensing elements will be achieved. Thermodynamic interaction occurring within nanoparticle?polymer composite films and the substrate interface will be investigated to achieve a high degree of control over the evolved nanostructures. These structures will be integrated with various plasmonic architectures, and the long range and short range surface plasmon polaritons will be studied. These unique sensor architectures will be validated via the detection of Botulinum and thrombin.Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit is that a scientific study on integrative nanostructured sensing architectures will advance research in the area of point-of-care sensing technologies. The ability to control the entropic-enthalpic interplay between nanoparticles and polymer systems will enable ?bottom-up? fabrication of complex nanostructures. Such custom engineered thin films will serve as unique substrates for biological assays as well as novel optical coatings for plasmonic nanostructures enabling the detection of extremely low level fluorescence signals.Broader impacts: The broader impacts are the development of health-related diagnostic tools, in which the technology can be translated into diagnostics for national security, environment, energy, food safety, and manufacturing. The program includes an educational component involving recruitment of underrepresented students and hands-on learning opportunities in the field of plasmonics, nanostructure studies, and biosensing for secondary, undergraduates, and graduate students.