NOVEL UV OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES FOR SENSITIVE SPECTROSCOPY OF BIOMOLECULAR FILMS

描述（由申请人提供）： 在这里，我们建议在紫外线（UV）区域的生物分子薄膜组件前所未有的灵敏度的研究的光波导为基础的光谱仪器的发展。单模集成光波导（IOW）已被证明提供了执行分子膜的衰减全反射（ATR）吸收光谱的最终灵敏度，并已在可见光谱区域的蛋白质膜中成功地得到证明。然而，缺乏足够的光波导材料限制了该技术扩展到UV区域，这代表了严重的限制，因为生物分子种类的最重要的光谱指纹位于深UV（300 - 190 nm）区域，例如蛋白质氨基酸色氨酸、酪氨酸和苯丙氨酸的芳族基团。紫外兼容光波导的成功开发将使我们能够实现在紫外光谱区（450 - 190 nm）的高灵敏度，单模IOW ATR光谱仪。在这个项目中，我们将专注于以下关键和有利的发展：i）可以产生在UV光谱范围内具有低传播损耗的单模IOW的光学材料和工艺，以及ii）用于单模IOW-ATR光谱仪的新型架构，该架构将大大简化其用于研究固液和固气界面处的分子组装。为了验证新技术的能力，我们将把它应用到几个案例研究中，包括界面处蛋白质行为的具体研究。 蛋白质和其他生物分子在固体表面的固定和吸附在基于固相的生物分析技术、生物相容性材料和生物传感器的发展中是至关重要的。获得一个更详细和准确的了解蛋白质如何吸附，在什么样的量和构象，并建立一个系统的物理/化学环境和它们的生物活性之间的相关性是设计新的生物界面过程和植入物的生物材料，并创建新的生物医学诊断和药物输送系统的基本知识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose here the development of an optical waveguide-based spectroscopic instrumentation in the ultra-violet (UV) region for research of unprecedented sensitivity in biomolecular thin-film assemblies. Single-mode, integrated optical waveguides (IOW) have shown to provide the ultimate sensitivity to perform attenuated total reflection (ATR) absorption spectroscopy of molecular films and has been successfully demonstrated in protein films at the visible spectral region. However, the lack of adequate optical waveguide materials has limited the extension of the technique into the UV region, which represents a serious limitation as most important spectroscopic fingerprints of biomolecular species are located in the deep UV (300 -190 nm) region, e.g. the aromatic groups of the protein amino acids tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. The successful development of UV-compatible optical waveguides will allow us to implement a highly sensitive, single-mode IOW ATR spectrometer at the UV spectral region (450 -190 nm). In this project we will focus on the critical and enabling developments of i) optical materials and process that can produce single-mode lOWs with low propagation loss in the UV spectral range, and ii) a novel architecture for the single-mode, IOW-ATR spectrometer that will greatly simplify its use for the investigation of molecular assemblies at the solid-liquid and solid-gas interfaces. To validate the capabilities of the novel technology, we will apply it to several case studies including specific investigations of protein behavior at interfaces. Immobilization and adsorption of proteins and other biomolecules to solid surfaces is critical in the development of solid-phase-based bioanalytical techniques, biocompatible materials, and biosensors. Gaining a more detailed and accurate understanding of how proteins adsorb, in what amount and conformation, and establishing a systematic correlation between the physical/chemical environment and their bioactivity is an essential knowledge for designing novel biointerfacial processes and biomaterials for implants, and for creating new biomedical diagnostics and drug delivery systems.