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Biosensing using photonic crystal nanolasers

  • Plasmonics, Photonics, and Metamaterials Prospective Article
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Abstract

Photonic crystal nanolasers are fabricated and operated simply, and can be applied as disposable sensors for biomedical applications. They are sensitive to the change with environmental index and surface charge. Functionalizing the nanolaser surface with an antibody, the specific binding of target antigen is detected with a detection limit 2-4 orders lower than that achieved by current standard methods, enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay. Nanolasers also detect negatively-charged deoxyribonucleic acid from their emission intensity. This technique requires neither labels nor spectroscopy, which simplifies screening procedures. Its applicability for high-speed detection of endotoxin and for label-fee imaging of living cells are also demonstrated.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Dr. S. Kita, Dr. T. Isono, Mr. H. Abe, Mr. S. Hachuda, Mr. M. Narimatsu, Mr. S. Otsuka, Mr. K. Watanabe, Mr. T. Furumoto, Mr. T. Watanabe, Mr. Y. Kishi, Mr. D. Takahashi, Mr. Y. Furuta, Ms. M. Sakemoto, and Dr. Y. Nishijima (Yokohama National University); Dr. H. Misawa, Hokkaido University, Dr. T. Endo and Mr. Y. Imai (Tokyo Institute of Technology); and Dr. Y. Goshima (Yokohama City University) for their contributions to the development of nanolaser biosensors. This work was partly supported by the Grant-In-Aid #24226003 from MEXT.

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  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogayaku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Toshihiko Baba

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Baba, T. Biosensing using photonic crystal nanolasers. MRS Communications 5, 555–564 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.73

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