We review how optofluidic hollow-core photonic crystal fibres (HC-PCF) can be integrated with in-line microfluidic circuits to achieve sensitive, label-free detection of proteins at low concentrations.[1] Proteins are the key building blocks of life, and sensing proteins is a challenging problem encountered across disciplines, from the study of fundamental interactions in biophysics to clinical applications in medicine. As nanometer-sized objects of low refractive index contrast, they are difficult to detect but have to be quantified to high precision. Because of their biological origin, they are also resource-intensive to synthesise or extract, requiring sensors to be capable of detecting small sample volumes at low concentrations. A key development in studying proteins came with the development of bright fluorescent markers known as labels. They revolutionised the field by adding fluorophores to the proteins either through genetic engineering or by chemical staining. However, increasing evidence shows that these labels alter protein behaviour, necessitating new sensing technologies. Hollow-core fibre-based sensors confine light into sub-microliter volumes while achieving high light-matter interaction over long path lengths. This enables them to achieve higher sensitivity compared to conventional non-waveguiding geometries. Here, we discuss our recent advances in realising this system experimentally and highlight future directions.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.