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Biosensors as shields for microcontrollers.

Former Member

I am a student in a Masters of Engineering in Technical Entrepreneurship program. This week my team is working on a very unique project that requires a lot of customer feedback. We need help from those with expertise in biotech, medical device research and development, and molecular biology.

 

We've been assigned a patented technology developed by a professor at our university. In essence, the technology is a biosensor in the form of a plasmonic interferometer that can be prepared with a multitude of substrates to detect the presence of a number of biomolecules in liquids. Our product idea around this is to package the sensor for prototyping and manufacturing purposes so that it can be integrated in devices used for testing applications in medical devices, food safety testing, and potentially for military and defense purposes. The value proposition of this sensor over other biosensors is that it will be low cost, small in size, highly sensitive, portable, and it gives feedback in real time.

 

My questions for you are;

 

Can you imagine devices that this sensor would be used for? (point of contact medical devices? testing devices?)

What companies produce these devices?

As a researcher, why would you be interested in this biosensor?

Do you know of existing technology to which this would be superior?

 

Since we are very new to understanding this technology, I'm not sure if I'm asking the right questions. Let me know your thoughts! Many thanks!

  • Hi Sara,

     

    Before we can answer your questions, we need to see a specification on what the biosensor can do.

    After that, we can assess its capabilities and then provide you with ideas on how and where the sensor could be used.

    It sounds like a very interesting device and it might have none medical uses.

     

    So help us help you.  Tell us what you can about the sensor, its interface, drivers/software needed to make it work, range of limitations like temperature, power use, sensitivities to contamination, time needed to provide results, reusability, reliability, how rugged is the sensor, power requirements.  Well you get the picture.  The more we know the more we can help.

     

    DAB

  • DAB,

     

    Thank you so much for replying to my post. I'm very new to understanding this technology so I'm not sure I can get you any further. However, a link to the patent is below:

    https://www.google.com/patents/WO2013112201A1?cl=en&dq=filbert+bartoli&hl=en&sa=X&ei=21DUUszFLefNsQS604KoCA&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ

     

    And the accompanying article abstract:

    A plasmonic interferometric biosensor that consists of arrays of circular aperture–groove nanostructures patterned on a gold film for phase-sensitive biomolecular detection is demonstrated. The phase and amplitude of interfering surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the proposed device can be effectively engineered by structural tuning, providing flexible and efficient control over the plasmon line shape observed through SPP interference. Spectral fringes with high contrast, narrow linewidth, and large amplitude have been experimentally measured and permit the sensitive detection of protein surface coverage as low as 0.4 pg mm−2. This sensor resolution compares favorably with commercial prism-based surface plasmon resonance systems (0.1 pg mm−2) but is achieved here using a significantly simpler collinear transmission geometry, a miniaturized sensor footprint, and a low-cost compact spectrometer. Furthermore, we also demonstrate superior sensor performance using the intensity interrogation method, which can be combined with CCD imaging to upscale our platform to high-throughput array sensing. A novel low-background interferometric sensing scheme yields a high sensing figure of merit (FOM*) of 146 in the visible region, surpassing that of previous plasmonic biosensors and facilitating ultrasensitive high-throughput detection.


    Does that help you answer any of my questions?


    Best,


    Sara

  • in reply to Former Member

    Hi Sara,

     

    Most of the information is way over my head (I have a MS degree), but there is a process you need to learn to do this type of research.

    First, go through the patent and write down all of the terms you do not understand and find real English descriptions.

    Then research all of the referenced items to see what they are and where they are used.

    Once you understand what the technology can do, search on all of the instrumentation that uses that capability.

     

    I know it is tedious, but you will need these skills for your entire career, so the sooner you get used to doing these tasks, the more successful you will be.

     

    Let me know if I can be of further help.

    DAB