SBIR Phase I: High Sensitivity Optical Fiber Biosensor with Nanoscale Coatings for Rapid Diagnostics of MRSA

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目涉及光纤生物传感器平台的开发，该平台通过在包层表面使用纳米级、高折射率、自组装的聚合物涂层来实现极高的灵敏度。一种快速、特异、灵敏的耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）和其他生物分析物检测系统将被开发，该系统价格低廉、便携且坚固耐用。关键的创新是离子自组装多层（isam）的组合，它允许将各种材料（包括聚合物和纳米颗粒）沉积成多层，每层只有一纳米厚，并且具有转折点长周期光栅（TAP-LPGs），其具有强大的宽带衰减峰，对光纤包层外部的变化高度敏感。TAP-LPG提供了一种高灵敏度、坚固耐用、廉价的生物传感器平台，只需通过在特定波长下透射强度的变化就可以检测到目标材料的存在，而ISAM薄膜通过在包层上提供高折射率、高表面积、纳米级涂层来放大灵敏度，这种涂层可以很容易地与大量受体分子（如抗体）耦合。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括创造一种新颖、廉价、高灵敏度、坚固耐用的便携式生物传感器平台，该平台将允许MRSA感染的早期和快速诊断。耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌广泛的抗生素耐药性使其成为快速诊断的一个特别重要的目标，以便及时给予适当的治疗。在美国，MRSA每年导致数千人死亡，每年有10万名患者住院。此外，提出的新型生物诊断平台结合了光子传感和纳米技术的精度，以及多功能亲和结合系统，可以对生物标志物进行超灵敏的测量，为医学诊断、药物发现和环境监测提供大量额外的重要目标。此外，该系统体积小、成本低，也适用于全球偏远和贫困地区。此外，该项目将为纳米级自组装薄膜的光学特性及其与生物分子和生物体的相互作用提供基础信息。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project concerns the development of an optical fiber biosensor platform that achieves exceptionally high sensitivity through use of a nanoscale, high refractive index, self-assembled polymer coating on the cladding surface. A rapid, specific, and sensitive detection system for methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other biological analytes will be developed that is inexpensive, portable and rugged. The key innovation is the combination of ionic self-assembled multilayers (ISAMs), which allow deposition of a variety of materials including polymers and nanoparticles into multiple layers each just a nanometer thick, with turnaround point long-period gratings (TAP-LPGs), which have strong, broadband attenuation peaks that are highly sensitive to changes on the exterior of the optical fiber cladding. The TAP-LPG provides a highly sensitive, robust, inexpensive biosensor platform where the presence of target materials is detected simply by changes in the transmitted intensity at a particular wavelength, while the ISAM film amplifies the sensitivity by providing a high refractive index, high surface area, nanoscale coating on the cladding that can be readily coupled to a vast array of receptor molecules such as antibodies. The broader impact / commercial potential of this project includes the creation of a novel, inexpensive, highly sensitive, rugged, portable biosensor platform that will allow early and rapid diagnosis of MRSA infection. The broad antibiotic resistance of MRSA makes it a particularly important target for rapid diagnosis so that the proper treatment can be promptly administered. MRSA is responsible for thousands of deaths annually in the United States and extended hospital visits for 100,000 patients per year. Further, the proposed novel biological diagnostic platform combines the precision of photonic sensing and nanotechnology with a versatile affinity binding system to make ultrasensitive measurements of biomarkers for a vast array of additional important targets for medical diagnostics, drug discovery, and environmental monitoring. In addition, the small size and low cost of the system makes it also applicable to remote and impoverished areas of the globe. Furthermore, the project will provide fundamental information on the optical properties of nanoscale self-assembled films and their interactions with biological molecules and organisms.