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Abstract

A simple, label-less, sensitive, rapid, and inexpensive sensor incorporates a unique optical transduction design and novel materials optimized for chemical or biosensing. The sensor features a planar coupler with at least one input and two output optical waveguides. The system responds to changes in refractive index upon analyte binding to molecular receptors on the sensor surface. In the preferred embodiment the coupling region can support at least two electromagnetic modes, and the interaction of these fields determines the amount of light propagating down each of the output waveguides. The changes in refractive index at the surface of the coupled region affect the interaction of the two propagation modes and, therefore, the amount of light detected at each output. In addition to a unique mode of operation, the waveguides and coupler are preferably fabricated from sol-gel materials chosen to optimize physical properties, suitability for lithography, optical properties, and availability of functional groups for immobilization of receptors or molecular recognition elements. The sol-gel materials used can be modified with dopants, allowing facile tailoring of their refractive index. Refractive index tuning is an advantage, not only for optimization of the coupler's waveguiding properties and refractive index sensitivity, but also allows the sensor to be tuned to have highest sensitivity in the refractive index ranges necessary for detection of protein/oligonucleotide-based molecular-based molecular recognition, or other analytes of interest.

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