Flexible Raman biosensing platform for low-cost health diagnostics

快速护理点感染诊断需要高度特异、敏感的传感器与便携式、易于使用、低成本的仪器相结合，并将导致更好的靶向治疗、更短的治疗时间和降低发病率。在这个项目中，我们提出实现一个通用的、灵活的、紧凑的、具有高灵敏度和选择性的传感平台。该系统将包括一个低成本的仪器，采用廉价的一次性通用传感器芯片，可以通过传统的表面修饰技术，很容易地用于从小分子到蛋白质和DNA的特定分析。纸基流体将用于将分析物直接从液滴输送到传感器表面，或者在需要时，流体微系统可以很容易地集成。该传感系统将通过暴露于受控制的百日咳感染的患者的临床样本进行演示，并用于分析埃博拉和鼠疫等重点病原体。该提案基于我们最近在波导增强拉曼光谱（WERS）方面的工作，以实现一种传感器芯片，该芯片显示出与表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）相当的表面增强，具有更高的应用灵活性和可制造性，并基于Dstl和化学之间在表面增强拉曼方法用于生物分析物检测方面的联合工作。拟议的生物传感平台将广泛应用于患者护理点，感染检测和疾病诊断，以及环境监测和安全等更广泛的应用，并将灵活配置以适应特定环境和分析挑战。台式仪器，采用插入式一次性传感器芯片，操作简单，适合全科医生的手术、病房或偏远社区使用。

Highly specific, sensitive sensors interfaced with portable, easy-to use, low-cost instruments are needed for rapid point-of-care infection diagnostics, and will lead to better targeted therapy, shorter time to treatment and reduced morbidity. In this project, we propose to realise a generic, flexible, compact sensing platform with high sensitivity and selectivity. The system will comprise a low-cost instrument employing cheap, disposable generic sensor chips that can be readily committed to specific analytes, from small molecules to proteins and DNA, by using conventional surface modification techniques. Paper-based fluidics will be used to deliver analytes straightforwardly from a drop to the sensor surface or, where required, fluidic microsystems may be easily integrated. The sensing system will be demonstrated with clinical samples from patients who have been exposed to controlled infection to whooping cough and for the analysis of priority pathogens such as ebola and plague. This proposal builds upon our recent work on waveguide-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (WERS) to realise a sensor chip which shows surface enhancements comparable to those of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with improved application flexibility and manufacturability, and upon joint work between Dstl and Chemistry on surface enhanced Raman approaches to bioanalyte detection. The proposed biosensing platform will have widespread application at the point of care for patients, in the detection of infection and the diagnosis of disease, and for broader applications such as environmental monitoring and security, and will be flexibly configurable for specific settings and analytical challenges. The desktop instrument, employing plug-in disposable sensor chips with simple operation will be appropriate for use in the GP's surgery, the ward, or in remote communities.