Electrostatic-responsive microdroplet lasers for ultrasensitive molecular detection

Ziyihui Wang; Yifan Zhang; Tianhua Xu; Zhiyi Yuan; Jiazheng Ding; Yu-Cheng Chen; Tiegen Liu

doi:10.1117/12.2574262

10 October 2020 Electrostatic-responsive microdroplet lasers for ultrasensitive molecular detection

Ziyihui Wang, Yifan Zhang, Tianhua Xu, Zhiyi Yuan, Jiazheng Ding, Yu-Cheng Chen, Tiegen Liu

Proceedings Volume 11554, Advanced Sensor Systems and Applications X; 1155406 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2574262
Event: SPIE/COS Photonics Asia, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

Electrostatics plays a critical function in most biomolecules, therefore monitoring subtle biomolecular bindings and dynamics via the electrostatic changes of biomolecules at biointerfaces has been an attractive topic recently and has provided the basis in diagnosis and biomedical science. Here we present a bioelectrostatic responsive microlaser based on liquid crystal (LC) droplet and explored its application for ultrasensitive detection of negatively charged biomolecules. Whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasing from positively charged LC microdroplets was applied as the optical resonator, where the lasing wavelength shift was employed as a sensing parameter. With the dual impacts from whispering-gallery mode and liquid crystal, molecular binding signals will be amplified in such LC droplet sensors. It is found that molecular electrostatic changes at the biointerface of droplet triggered wavelength shift in lasing spectra. The total wavelength shift increased proportionally with the adhering target concentrations. Compared to a conventional polarized optical microscope, significant improvements in sensitivity and dynamic range by four orders of magnitude were achieved. Our work indicated that the surface-to-volume ratio plays a critical role in the detection sensitivity in WGM laser-based microsensors. Finally, bovine serum albumin and specific biosensing using streptavidin and biotin were exploited to demonstrate the potential applications of microlasers with a detection limit on the order of 1 pM. We anticipate this approach will open new possibilities for the ultrasensitive label-free detection of charged biomolecules and molecular interactions by providing a lower detection limit than conventional methods.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Ziyihui Wang, Yifan Zhang, Tianhua Xu, Zhiyi Yuan, Jiazheng Ding, Yu-Cheng Chen, and Tiegen Liu "Electrostatic-responsive microdroplet lasers for ultrasensitive molecular detection", Proc. SPIE 11554, Advanced Sensor Systems and Applications X, 1155406 (10 October 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2574262

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available