This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10215, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and Conference Committee listing.

In this study, two-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC) was developed using functionalized polymers and nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for biosensing applications. In addition, using functionalized polymer-based PhC, detection of DNA hybridization or potassium ion were successfully applied by changing of PhC design and base material. For detection of DNA hybridization, PhC cavity was fabricated using polymer. By introducing of cavity into PhC, surrounding refractive index change due to the DNA hybridization could be detected high sensitively. Furthermore, for detection of potassium ion, PhC was fabricated using ionophore contained plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC). By using ionophore contained PVC-based PhC, potassium ion was specifically extracted into the PhC by ionophore. Then, potassium ion could be detected by the optical characteristics change that attributed by the physical and chemical property change of base material. From these result shows that the functionalized polymer-based PhC enables to apply for developing of high sensitive optical biosensor.

With the aim to prevent the oceans ecosystems degradation, there is an urgent need to develop portable sensing tools able to operate directly in the environment, avoiding the transportation of the ocean samples to analytical laboratories. To achieve this long-term objective, we describe here the work carried out to develop and characterize a multiplexed photonic immunosensor for the direct analysis of toxic chemical targets in marine samples. We have employed immunosensors based on photonic Bimodal Waveguide (BiMW) interferometric devices fabricated in silicon technologies combined with specific receptors and antibodies for the targeted chemical targets. Several procedures for the functionalization of the Si₃N₄ sensor surfaces have been evaluated based on wet silanization methods and further covalent receptor immobilization. The developed immunosensors, based on competitive inhibition assays, show LODs at μg/L or ng/L levels, depending on the analyzed chemical target.

On-site detection of chlorpyrifos, the most commonly used insecticide, is still a challenge for food safety concerns. So far, different chromatographic methods and immunological methods have been used for chlorpyrifos assays due to their reliability and sensitivity, yet they have been time-consuming, depended too much on expensive facilities and needed a lot of technical skills, making them unsuitable for on-site screening. In this study, a plastic lab-on-a-chip was developed to rapidly detect chlorpyrifos residue. The 1.8x5.3 cm. acrylic chip was fabricated using an engraving machine. It had two parts, a sample socket for sample application and a reaction part for chlorpyrifos signal detection. The simple and rapid chlorpyrifos assay combining a chlorpyrifos specific aptamer and colorimetric detection using gold nanoparticle was in its entirety operated on the acrylic plastic chip. The sample was just applied to the chip via a sample socket, then the chip was sealed with a sticker and flicked forward to get the gold nanoparticles/aptamer solution mixed and flicked backward to see the result. When chlorpyrifos was present in a sample, a binding between chlorpyrifos and aptamer protected the gold nanoparticles from salt induced aggregation, leaving a distinct ruby red color on the chip, whereas when chlorpyrifos was absent, the aptamer would induce particle aggregation leaving only purple color. The assay completion requires less than 10 minutes, has a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 ppb, and has high specificity (100%) and sensitivity (100%). When this was used to identify chlorpyrifos residue in commercial samples, residue contamination was identified in 6 of 30 samples tested (20.00%). This work demonstrates the fabrication of a simple, low-cost, paper-based lab-on-a-chip platform suitable for rapid-detection applications.

Single cell analysis can aid the study of molecular events responsible for cellular functions and unveil their connections to the biological functions of an organism. Biosensors based on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to this end and offer several advantages over other sensing platforms, such as sensitivity and multiplexed capabilities, among others. While SERS nanosensors/nanoparticles have been used for analysis in single cells, the delivery of such biosensors relies on cellular uptake, which requires long incubation time and has different efficiencies among cell lines. Nanosensors based on tapered optical fibers, instead, can be inserted in single cells and detect target molecules in subcellular compartment. The combination of these sensing devices with the transduction mechanism of nucleic acid based nanoprobes (i.e. inverse molecular sentinels) will permit the more direct detection of nucleic acids within single cells. This paper presents the development of tapered fiber-based biosensors for the detection of nucleic acid biomarkers in plant cells. The use of inverse molecular sentinels in plant cell was demonstrated. Sensors based on tapered fibers were fabricated and used to measure SERS from a single cell.

Motivated by potential benefits such as sensor user-friendly, multiplexing capabilities and high sensitivities, nanophotonic lab-on-chip biosensors have profiled themselves as an excellent alternative to traditional analytical techniques. Modern diagnostics is demanding novel analytical tools that could enable quick, accurate, sensitive, reliable and cost-effective results so that appropriate treatments or remediantion actions can be implemented in time, leading to improved outcomes. The main objective of our research is to achieve such ultrasensitive platforms for label-free analysis using nanophotonic technologies and custom-designed biofunctionalization protocols, accomplishing the requirements of disposability and portability. We are using innovative designs of nanophotonic biosensors based silicon photonics technology (nanointerferometers) and full microfluidics lab-on-chip integration. We have demonstrated the suitability of the photonic nanobiosensors for the detection, with extremely sensitivity and selectivity, of marine pollutants and human disease biomarkers. In all cases, our sensing methodology has shown excellent robustness with high reproducibility and sensitivity, rendering in valuable tool for the fast diagnostics of un-treated bodily fluids or environmental samples.

Nanostructure-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are capable of sensitive, real-time, label-free, and multiplexed detection for chemical and biomedical applications. Recently, the studies of nanostructure-based aluminum sensors have attracted a large attention. However, the intrinsic properties of aluminum metal, having a large imaginary part of the dielectric function and a longer electromagnetic field decay length, limit nanostructure’s surface sensing capability. To improve the surface sensitivity, a nearly guided wave SPR sensor has been proposed, which enables the surface plasmons to spread along the dielectric layer and increases the interaction volume. Here we proposed the combination between Fano resonances in capped nanoslits and a thin nanodielectric top layer to develop highly sensitive nanostructure-based aluminum sensors. We studied the effects of an Al₂O₃ protection layer on the optical properties, bulk and surface (wavelength and intensity) sensitivities of capped aluminum nanoslits. We found the top layer can enhance the sensitivities of the Wood’s anomaly-dominant resonance or asymmetric Fano resonance in capped aluminum nanoslits. The maximum improvement can be reached by a factor of 16. The maximum wavelength and intensity sensitivities are 6.8 nm/nm and 150 %/nm, respectively. With 1.71 % intensity change (3 times of noise level), the limit of detection of Al₂O₃ film thickness was 0.018 nm. We attributed the enhanced surface sensitivity for capped aluminum nanoslits to a reduced evanescent length and sharp slope of the asymmetric profile caused by the capped oxide layer and Fano coupling. The protein-protein interaction experiments verified the high sensitivity of the Al₂O₃-aliminum capped nanoslits.

The development of rapid, easy-to-use and highly sensitive DNA detection methods has received increasing interest for medical diagnostics and research purposes. Our laboratory has developed several chip-based DNA biosensors including molecular sentinel-on-chip (MSC), multiplex MSC, and inverse molecular sentinel-on-chip (iMS-on-Chip). These sensors use surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) plasmonic chips, functionalized with DNA probes for single-step DNA detection. The sensing mechanisms is based on the hybridization of target sequences and DNA probes, resulting in a displacement of a SERS reporter from the chip surface. This distance increase results in change in SERS signal intensity from the reporter, thus indicating the capture, and therefore the presence, of the target nucleic acid sequence. The nucleic acid probes and the SERS chip, which compose the sensing platform, were designed for single-step DNA detection. The target sequences are detected by delivery of a sample solutions on a functionalized chip and characterization of the SERS signals, after 1 - 2 hr incubation. These techniques avoid labeling of the target sequence or washing to remove unreacted components, making them easy-to-use and cost effective. The use of SERS chip for medical diagnostics was demonstrated by detecting genetic biomarkers for respiratory viral infection and the DNA of dengue virus 4.

Current industrial technologies for selective oxidation of propene via a single-stage oxidation process in H2/O2 catalyzed by Au holds excellent prospect of green production of C3H6O. Fundamentals of the molecular mechanisms between catalytic Au and the oxidant remain unclear for decades, however, impeding the development of its rational design and implementation. We explore a multifunctional, highly organized nanoporous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate with immobilized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) both as a catalytic reactor and an ultra-sensitive SERS probe to investigate the molecular level details during Au-catalyzed oxidation of propene in situ. Nanoporous AAO offers excellent thermal stability and enhanced particle coverage density for the immobilized Au NPs within to enable high temperature SERS interrogation, opening up new opportunities in the study of the catalytic reactions. Different size of Au NPs and pores of AAO are explored for improved SERS sensitivity and catalytic activity.

Due to its toxicological effects, Cr speciation (i.e., the determination of individual Cr-species concentration) continues to receive attention. This is because trivalent Cr³⁺ is a micronutrient essential to life, whereas hexavalent Cr⁶⁺ is carcinogenic. And, Cr in lake waters is important because there are ~5 million lakes worldwide. We are developing a method to initially determine the total Cr concentrations in lake waters using a microplasma coupled to an optical emission spectrometer. In this paper, an answer to the question “what are the Cr-species present in lake waters” will be discussed and progress towards determination of Cr-concentrations using a microplasma will be described.

There are many types of natural gas fields including shale formations that are common especially in the St-Lawrence Valley (Canada). Since methane (CH4), the major component of shale gas, is odorless, colorless and highly flammable, in addition to being a greenhouse gas, methane emanations and/or leaks are important to consider for both safety and environmental reasons. Telops recently launched on the market the Hyper-Cam Methane, a field-deployable thermal infrared hyperspectral camera specially tuned for detecting methane infrared spectral features under ambient conditions and over large distances. In order to illustrate the benefits of this novel research instrument for natural gas imaging, the instrument was brought on a site where shale gas leaks unexpectedly happened during a geological survey near the EnfantJesus hospital in Quebec City, Canada, during December 2014. Quantitative methane imaging was carried out based on methane’s unique infrared spectral signature. Optical flow analysis was also carried out on the data to estimate the methane mass flow rate. The results show how this novel technique could be used for advanced research on shale gases.

Prevision of climate change is presently one of the main research goals. In order to improve the accuracy of current climate models, it is necessary to better characterize the main greenhouse gases concentration and fluxes (CO₂, CH₄, and water vapor) at a global scale. For this purpose one promising solution is the space-borne integrated path differential absorption lidar (IP-DIAL) technique, which is currently investigated by space agencies in the preparation of future missions such as MERLIN (CNES-DLR) for methane, or ASCENDS (NASA) for carbon dioxide. One of the challenges for these missions is to have high energy laser sources which can emit specific wavelength to address the species of interest. At ONERA, a high energy transmitter based on a broadly tunable parametric source has been developed in the 2 μm spectral region to address the main greenhouse gases absorption lines that are well-suited for space application¹. This source has been recently implemented on the R30 CO₂ absorption line at 2051 nm for ground-based range resolved measurements in the atmosphere. In our set-up the source emits 10 mJ pulses at a 30 Hz repetition rate. The backscattered light from aerosols is collected with a Newton telescope and a direct detection scheme based on an InGaAs photodiode. CO₂ concentration has been estimated with a precision better than 25 ppm for a 200-meter spatial resolution in the 100-500 m range and a 10 minutes acquisition time.

Our ambient air carries hundreds of volatile organic compounds that can provide information about the toxicity and hygiene of our immediate environment. This paper presents prototype electronic nose designs that integrate array of chemical sensors into the embedded system to detect volatile organic compounds in the ambient air. Two specific applications for the electronic nose of detecting food spoilage and identifying sources of indoor air pollutants are discussed. A system with three chemical sensors was tested with various food items at varying stages of spoilage. The presented results show that food spoilage can be detected with a high degree of accuracy. A second system with eleven sensors was tested with various household items that emit compounds known to have adverse effects to human health. The results show that with the considered sensor array, the tested sources can be identified with a high degree of accuracy. The presented designs are being further improved to achieve a higher accuracy, further expand the compounds that can be identified for a broader range of applications, and to build a miniaturized hand-held electronic nose device. The system development, testing methodologies, and results analysis are presented and discussed.

A study of the link between the infra-red (IR) absorbance and the relative static permittivity Ɛ_r of liquid hydrocarbons is of special interest for developing in-situ oxidation monitoring tools. In particular, where IR measurements are difficult to implement but cost efficient and durable capacitive probes can be used. This paper will explore this link by exposing a paraffinic hydrocarbon to oxidation in an accelerated degradation process, while measuring the IR absorption and Ɛ_r values during this process. It is shown to what extent the IR response of the hydrocarbon liquid changes in the 500 to 4000 cm^-1 window, and how this can be translated into a measured increase in Ɛ_r during oxidation time. The correlation coefficient between IR absorbance at around 1720 cm^-1 and Ɛ_r increase with oxidation time was 99.7%. This remarkably good agreement shows that capacitive probes have the potential to be used as a substitutional in-field tool for in-situ degradation monitoring of hydrocarbon liquids.

In order to ensure the safety of the environment during hydrocarbon extraction operations, downhole nondestructive testing of the well casings is of the utmost importance. To this purpose, rotating field eddy current has been recently proposed as an alternative to the state-of-the-art array sensors and mechanically rotating sensors. In this paper, we present an analytical approach to modeling of such a sensor. We study the sensor sensitivity to the small defects by coupling the model with the dipole-based model of small defects.

Although there is a well-developed commercial offering for the detection of gaseous emissions in natural gas infrastructures, the same does not exist in the transport or transformation of liquid petroleum products. In the case of aromatics, UV DOAS using lamps and retroreflectors are amongst the only choices, along with UV-DIAL. But these are limited in sensitivity and depend on long absorption paths or are very complex. There are also large airborne lidars for the detection of liquid hydrocarbon spills on water or land that rely on UV induced fluorescence (LIF). But there is a lack of simple techniques for the remote detection of vapor plumes or spills involving liquid petroleum products. There have been proposals for the use of UV enhanced Raman for the detection of vapor plumes, but these require large laser powers and detection optics for poor sensitivity. On the other hand, recent developments in UV LEDs allows for simple techniques in the detection of aromatics, benzene and toluene in particular. These are found in most liquid petroleum products. Using these new commercially available UV LEDs and a gas correlation spectrometer set-up, benzene vapor is measured using the electronic transition at 258.9 nm and at other deep UV wavelengths. It is shown that while there is significant fluorescence in liquid benzene, oxygen in air severely quenches the fluorescence of the vapor phase benzene, rendering fluorescence unusable for the standoff detection of the vapor phase. Various implementations of standoff benzene/toluene detection using UV LEDs and gas correlation are discussed, along with pros and cons of the technique.

A variety of in vitro and ex-vivo cell and tissue models are being used in biomedical research, but for many of them control of the cellular microenvironment, particularly oxygenation state and intracellular O₂ levels, is inadequate. Since O₂ is a key parameter and biomarker of cellular function, implementation of reliable in situ control and knowledge of actual O₂ levels in different compartments of biological samples is of critical importance. The versatile and flexible technology of O₂ sensing and imaging based on phosphorescence quenching provides such capabilities. In recent years, various O₂ sensing systems, which operate with solid-state sensors, soluble probes or imaging (nano)sensors in conjunction with portable handheld instruments, commercial plate readers or live cell imaging platforms, have been developed, which are suitable for routine use in many research labs to perform a range of important analytical and biomedical tasks. Here we overview the available O₂ sensing solutions, their analytical features, and describe how they can be integrated in the current paradigm of biomedical research. Representative examples of the use of such systems in complex physiological studies with advanced tissue and disease models are given, in which they provide strict environmental control of dissolved and gaseous O₂ (macroscopically and microscopically, by point measurements and high-resolution imaging in 2D and 3D), and important information about cellular function and changes in tissue metabolism under different conditions and treatments.

The operating terrain, in which wireless sensor networks are deployed to function, has a potentially significant impact on the network performance. This is due to the inherent non-ideal channel conditions present in the operating environment such as multipath, noise and propagation delays. However, most simulations ignore these non-idealities thus yielding very optimistic results. This paper incorporates channel non-idealities such as propagation delays into a simulated wireless sensor network, and evaluates the effect on network performance. Given their inherent wideband characteristic, which makes them robust to non-ideal conditions such as multipath, chaos-based modulation schemes are a possible alternative to conventional spread spectrum techniques. By incorporating these non-ideal conditions, and evaluating the network performance when deployed in non-terrestrial terrains such as underwater acoustic localization, this paper contributes a more realistic simulation framework of the sensor network performance using the metrics of throughput and end-end delay, and a comparison of the results when different chaos modulation schemes are applied is presented.

Tissue biopsy and swab culture are the gold standards for diagnosing tissue infection; these tests require significant time, diagnostic costs, and resources. Towards earlier and specific diagnosis of infection, a non-destructive, rapid, and mobile detection device is described to distinguish bacterial species via light scatter spectra from the surface of an infected tissue, reagent-free. Porcine skin and human cadaveric skin models of wound infection were used with a 650 nm LED and an angular photodiode array to detect bacterial infections on the tissue surface, which can easily be translated to a typical CMOS array or smartphone. Tissue samples were inoculated with Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, or Staphylococcus aureus and backscatter was collected from 100° to 170° in 10° increments; each bacterial species resulted in unique Mie scatter spectra. Distinct Mie scatter spectra were obtained from epidermis (intact skin model) and dermis (wound model) samples, as well as from porcine and human cadaveric skin samples. Interactions between bacterial colonies and lipid particles within dermis samples generated a characteristic Mie scatter spectrum, while the lipid itself did not contribute to such characteristic spectrum as corroborated with body lotion experiments. The designed angular photodiode array is able to immediately and non-destructively detect tissue bacterial infection and identify the species of infection within three seconds, which could greatly improve point of care diagnostics and antibiotic treatments.

The microfluidic device for the handheld RT-qPCR thermal cycler was attached with three heaters. The temperatures of these heaters were constantly controlled to 42˚C, 96˚C and 56˚C for reverse transcription, denaturization, and anealing/extension, respectively. The PCR solution was injected with about 20 µl and flowed in the microchannel repeatedly by a switching of two pumps. The two kinds of fluorescence for FAM and ROX were measured on a detection point placed between the two heaters for the denaturization and the anealing/extension. For the microfluidic device, we have developed the handheld RT-qPCR thermal cycler. The size of the system is 200 x 100 x 50 mm and the weight is only 0.6 kg including dry-cell batteries. As the target for the high-speed microfluidic RT-qPCR, influenza A virus was examined. Reverse transcription and qPCR were carried out sequentially in the same microchannel as a one-step RT-qPCR. As the results of 45 cycles with 3 s for denaturation and 9 s annealing/extension after 30 s for RT and 10s for activation of DNA polymerase, influenza A virus could be detected within only 12 minutes, and the detection limit was approximately 50 pfu/ml.

In the context of rising the frequency of natural disasters and catastrophes humanity has to develop methods and tools to ensure safe living conditions. Effectiveness of preventive measures greatly depends on quality and lead time of the forecast of disastrous natural phenomena, which is based on the amount of knowledge about natural hazards, their causes, manifestations, and impact. To prevent them it is necessary to get complete and comprehensive information about the extent of spread and severity of natural processes that can act within a defined territory. For these purposes the High Mountain Geophysical Institute developed the automated workplace for mining, analysis and archiving of radar, satellite, lightning sensors information and terrestrial (automatic weather station) weather data.

The combination and aggregation of data from different sources of meteorological data provides a more informativity of the system. Satellite data shows the global cloud region in visible and infrared ranges, but have an uncertainty in terms of weather events and large time interval between the two periods of measurements, which complicates the use of this information for very short range forecasts of weather phenomena. Radar and lightning sensors data provide the detection of weather phenomena and their localization on the background of the global pattern of cloudiness in the region and have a low period measurement of atmospheric phenomena (hail, thunderstorms, showers, squalls, tornadoes).

The authors have developed the improved algorithms for recognition of dangerous weather phenomena, based on the complex analysis of incoming information using the mathematical apparatus of pattern recognition.