Proceedings Article | 27 November 2023
KEYWORDS: Liquid crystals, Whispering gallery modes, Molecules, Optical microcavities, Biosensors, Optofluidics, Target detection, Microresonators, Biosensing, Biomolecules
DNA detection based on DNA hybridization has wide applications in various fields, such as clinical diagnostics, food safety, and environmental monitoring, etc. At present, common DNA detection approaches include fluorescence-based microarray technique, electrochemical method and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), etc. However, these methods require additional precise equipments and relatively complicated detection process. In this work, we developed a biosensor platform based on a liquid crystal (LC)-amplified optofluidic whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator to achieve ultra-sensitive, label-free, and quick-response DNA hybridization detection. Liquid crystal is a material with high sensitivity, rapid response, and low cost. It exhibits significant directional and positional ordering, and it is sensitive and responsive to external stimuli. LC molecules exhibit a uniform orientation on the surface of the resonator, when the surface is covered with an appropriate amount of ssDNA. Once complementary DNA and ssDNA hybridize on the surface, the homotropic orientation of the LCs will be destroyed. Due to the simultaneous interaction of the WGM and the LCs in the optofluidic resonator, changes caused by the DNA hybridization can be amplified, resulting in a shift in the resonance wavelength. In this experiment, we used the spectral wavelength shift as a sensing parameter to achieve the detection of target DNA, and a lower detection limit compared to traditional DNA detection methods was obtained. At the same time, this biosensor platform also shows good selectivity. Our research results suggest that the LC based WGM optical microcavity sensing platform can provide an ultra-sensitive, label free solution for DNA detection.
