Optofluidic biosensing for the study of disease at the molecular level

摘要

Despite decades of gains in biotechnology, currently much remains unknown about the molecular mechanisms of a number of deadly diseases. New tools are needed to speed discovery at the molecular level and to mitigate the complexity of studying the systems biology of disease. In the last decade, a number of advancements have been made in photonic biosensing aimed at developing a new generation of technologies for the study and early detection of disease. Label-free photonic biosensing techniques such as surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI), nanoporous silicon waveguides, interferometry, and optical resonators have achieved detection limits on par with conventional techniques while decreasing the size of the biosensing element and reducing the number of steps involved in the biosensing procedure. In addition, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been shown to detect molecules in extremely low numbers, even single molecules.rnIn parallel to the development of a new generation of photonic biosensing techniques, advanced microfluidic technologies have emerged. The last decade has seen the development of automated micro-valves and micro-pumps, particle sorting, concentration gradient generation, and sample mixing. Also, photonic components, including waveguides and lenses, have been fabricated from soft-lithography materials. Synthesizing advanced microfluidic techniques with the new generation of photonic biosensing is likely to be the key to increasing throughput by increasing automation, decreasing equipment costs, and enabling multiplexing. This report will review examples of recent work in optofluidic biosensors and will discuss the opportunities for advancing research related to disease at the molecular level utilizing optofluidic biosensing technologies.