For example, 40-base DNA (~13 nm in length) cannot efficiently infiltrate 20-nm pores [7, 8]. Hence, there is a significant challenge in detecting biological entities such as viruses, bacteria, and blood cells that typically have sizes much larger than those of the pores. Alternative measurement techniques

for the detection of surface-bound molecules on PSi include monitoring fluorescent labels and changes in reflectance intensity for the detection of MS2 bacteriophage [6] and Escherichia coli bacteria [9], respectively. NVP-BSK805 supplier however, emerging interest in lab-on-a-chip technologies has placed focus on label-free refractometric-based sensors in order to avoid the additional expense of fluorescent labels. In addition, refractometric sensing configurations are a popular choice due to the compact size, small active sensing region, ability to transduce molecular interaction with an electric field into a refractive index selleck chemicals change, and ability to array and multiplex devices allowing several biosensors p38 MAPK apoptosis on a single chip. For example, silicon-on-insulator (SOI)

waveguides (WGs) and surface plasmon devices utilize evanescent fields to detect surface-bound molecules of all sizes [10, 11]. PSi WGs have demonstrated sensitivities an order of magnitude greater than SOI WGs due to the direct interaction of small molecules with the guided field inside the porous layer; however, surface-bound large molecules present a detection challenge in PSi WGs due to the weak evanescent fields at the surface [8, 12, 13]. The PSi BSW/BSSW biosensor offers the possibility to detect both small molecules that infiltrate the pores and large molecules

attached to the sensor’s surface [8]. The BSW mode is a surface state excited within the truncated defect layer at the surface of a multilayer Bragg mirror and has been previously reported in PSi sensing applications [14–17]. The novel BSSW mode is confined by a step or gradient ZD1839 molecular weight refractive index within the multilayer and can selectively detect small molecules attached within the pores with an enhanced sensitivity (>2,000 nm/refractive index unit (RIU)) in comparison to band edge modes of the multilayer, microcavities, or traditional WG modes [8, 12, 16]. The BSW and BSSW modes are each manifested as a distinct resonance peak in the reflectance spectrum, and the angular shift of each peak can be used to quantify the number of molecules attached to the sensor. A thorough theoretical analysis of both the step and gradient BSW/BSSW configurations has been previously presented [8]. In this report, the first fabricated step index and an optimized gradient index PSi BSW/BSSW biosensor are presented. Large M13KO7 bacterial viruses and 60 nm diameter latex nanospheres as well as small 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and gluteraldehyde (GA) molecules are used as model systems to demonstrate the size-selective detection scheme.