Fabrication of High Aspect Ratio Optical/Electrochemical Hybrid Sensor Arrays

塔夫茨大学的大卫沃尔特教授得到了分析和表面化学项目的支持，创建了一个可以同时进行电化学和光学测量的微传感器平台。主要目的是证明使用电化学发光（ECL）进行多重分析的可行性。PI率先使用随机光学阵列进行多重分析。在这个项目中，PI正在通过在微米直径的开放式二氧化硅毛细管中沉积金来创建混合光学和电化学传感器阵列，这些毛细管也可以用作光纤。将制备光学微珠，将其插入纤维中的威尔斯孔中，并通过通过微线施加的电位来激发。 所产生的发射光将通过光纤收集。微珠上涂有导电聚苯胺或聚吡咯，使它们可以被功能化以检测各种物质。长期目标涉及创建一个通用平台，其中光学或电化学（或两种类型）传感器可以以阵列格式单独询问。电化学和光谱学的耦合增加了可以从给定传感器获得的信息量，防止误报。 非常需要能够准确且廉价地检测许多物种的下一代传感器。 该项目中创建的集成平台将允许在临床，环境，化学和生物过程控制领域的应用。 该阵列平台应能实现具有微米空间分辨率的新型化学成像测量，可用于医学诊断和生物细胞研究。 这项研究使学生接触到几个学科，包括化学，光学，物理和生物学。

Professor David Walt of Tufts University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to create a microsensor platform that can make simultaneous electrochemical and optical measurements. The major objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of performing multiplexed analysis using electrochemiluminescence (ECL). The PI has pioneered the use of random optical arrays for multiplexed analysis. In this project, the PI is creating a hybrid optical and electrochemical sensor array by deposition of gold in micron-diameter, open silica capillaries, which also function as optical fibers. Optical microbeads will be prepared, inserted into wells in the fibers and excited by an electropotential applied through the microwires. The resulting emitted light will be collected through the fiber. The beads are coated with conducting polyaniline or polypyrrole so that they can be functionalized to detect various species. The long-term goal involves the creation of a universal platform in which either optical or electrochemical (or both types of) sensors can be interrogated individually in an array format. The coupling of electrochemistry and spectroscopy increases the amount of information that can be obtained from a given sensor, preventing false positives. There is a great need for next generation sensors that can detect numerous species accurately and inexpensively. The integrated platform being created in this project will allow applications in the clinical, environmental and chemical and bioprocess control areas. The array platform should enable new types of chemical imaging measurements with micrometer spatial resolution, which could be used in medical diagnostics and the study of biological cells. This research exposes students to several disciplines including chemistry, optics, physics and biology.