Gradient Grating Period Guided-Mode Resonance for Potential Biosensing Applications

In this study, a novel gradient grating period guided-mode resonance (GGP-GMR) biosensor is proposed, and albumin was successfully detected as a test model. The GGP-GMR sensor exhibits a gradient resonant wavelength along the device. At a fixed incident wavelength, light resonates at a specific period such that the light is reflected at this period (or resonant period) and transmitted to other periods. Thus, for a charge-coupled device under the GGP-GMR sensor, a dip-like intensity distribution was measured with a specific pixel of minimum intensity corresponding to the resonant period. The variation in sample concentrations caused changes in the refractive index (RI) on the sensor surface, which induced a shift in the resonant period and in the pixel corresponding to the minimum intensity. A GGP-GMR sensor can achieve a limit of detection of 8.58× 10-4 RIU within a detection range of sucrose solutions of 0%-60% concentrations that corresponds to the RI from 1.333 to 1.442. In a buffer solution, albumin was successfully detected to measure the clinically relevant concentration. The simple design and easy fabrication of the GGP-GMR sensor combined with its simple readout and optical path design facilitates system miniaturization for handheld devices and its integration with smartphones, which could be beneficial for future point-of-care applications.