Collaborative Research: Evaporation-Driven Optofluidic Biosensors using Photonic Crystal Biosilica

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The goal of this research project is to explore sensing of biological substances using naturally occurring diatoms, which are a group of single-celled algae found in nature that have been shown to possess unique properties suitable for biosensing applications. This research could lead to new methods to detect many types of biomolecules, which would in turn positively impact pollution monitoring, hazardous material detection, and early disease diagnosis. The integration of this research with education and outreach efforts benefits both graduate and undergraduate students at Oregon State University and Washington State University-Vancouver. Programmatic topics on nanophotonic technology and microfluidics are being added to curricula of these institutions, and efforts are underway to try to broaden the participation of under-represented minorities, women and K-12 students at these institutions through the summer research programs. Evaporation-induced capillary flow in micro- and nano-scale structures can sustain a liquid flow without external pumps, and this can be a desirable feature for biosensing. The goal of this research project is to develop a new type of evaporation-driven, optofluidic biosensor using diatom photonic crystal biosilica. Diatoms are a group of single-celled photosynthetic algae that use biochemical pathways to biomineralize and self-assembled three-dimensional photonic crystals with unique photonic and micro- and nano-fluidic properties. Three aims are being pursued: 1) investigation of evaporation-induced capillary forces in the arrayed micro- and nanopores of diatom biosilica; 2) development of an optofluidic biosensor with enhanced light-matter interactions through in-pore plasmonic nanoparticles and 3) enabling a lab-on-chip optofluidic sensing system for trace level of biomarker detection, specifically for histamine as allergy biomarkers, using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing. This research could lead to label-free sensing of many small biomolecules, which would positively impact pollution monitoring, hazardous material detection, and early disease diagnosis. The synergy of the research and education parts of this project benefits both graduate and undergraduate students at Oregon State University and Washington State University-Vancouver by enhancing their curricula with nanophotonic technology and microfluidics topics. The research project also has a component of broadening the participation of under-represented minorities, women and K-12 students through summer research programs.