Biophotonic Sensors and Applications

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2017) | Viewed by 29740

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Optoelectronic Engineering, School of Systems Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, Kami 782-8502, Japan
Interests: optical fiber sensors and devices; biophotonic sensors; optical networks; micro- and nano-devices; polymer photonics; optical sensors for autonomous driving
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a high demand for biophotonic sensors in applications that include the military, homeland security, industrial processes, and biomedical, as well as a wide range of other applications.  “Biophotonic Sensors and Applications” focused on biophotonic sensors, based on novel biomaterials, micro- and nano-photonics, waveguide devices, and fiber optic devices. Biophotonic technology expands sensing concepts to include the detection of chemical and biologically toxic agents, as well as the monitoring of biological processes. Biophotonic sensors are based on a broad range of photonic technologies.

The aims of this Special Issue is to present novel and innovative applications of biophotonic sensors and devices, which are related to photonic principles, engineering, and technology, which are relevant for critical problems in the fields of medicine, biology, and biotechnology. For examples, the Si waveguide and optical fibers can detect label-free bimolecular, which improved the sensitivity of the detection. Fundamental study of fluorescent nanoparticles, quantum dots, plasmonic materials, or other materials are applied for the macromolecular properties of living cells.

The scope of this Special Issue will cover concepts that use optical fiber or waveguide technology, but is not limited to this technology. Combining biological recognition probes and the excellent sensitivity of laser-based optical detection, biophotonic sensors are capable of detecting and differentiating bio-constituents of complex systems in order to provide unambiguous identification and accurate quantization.

Prof. Dr. Yasufumi Enami
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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3714 KiB  
Article
Silicon Integrated Dual-Mode Interferometer with Differential Outputs
by Niklas Hoppe, Pascal Scheck, Rami Sweidan, Philipp Diersing, Lotte Rathgeber, Wolfgang Vogel, Benjamin Riegger, Alexander Southan and Manfred Berroth
Biosensors 2017, 7(3), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios7030037 - 14 Sep 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7194
Abstract
The dual-mode interferometer (DMI) is an attractive alternative to Mach-Zehnder interferometers for sensor purposes, achieving sensitivities to refractive index changes close to state-of-the-art. Modern designs on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platforms offer thermally stable and compact devices with insertion losses of less than 1 dB [...] Read more.
The dual-mode interferometer (DMI) is an attractive alternative to Mach-Zehnder interferometers for sensor purposes, achieving sensitivities to refractive index changes close to state-of-the-art. Modern designs on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platforms offer thermally stable and compact devices with insertion losses of less than 1 dB and high extinction ratios. Compact arrays of multiple DMIs in parallel are easy to fabricate due to the simple structure of the DMI. In this work, the principle of operation of an integrated DMI with differential outputs is presented which allows the unambiguous phase shift detection with a single wavelength measurement, rather than using a wavelength sweep and evaluating the optical output power spectrum. Fluctuating optical input power or varying attenuation due to different analyte concentrations can be compensated by observing the sum of the optical powers at the differential outputs. DMIs with two differential single-mode outputs are fabricated in a 250 nm SOI platform, and corresponding measurements are shown to explain the principle of operation in detail. A comparison of DMIs with the conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer using the same technology concludes this work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophotonic Sensors and Applications)
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1387 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Field-Effect Transistor Utilization to Study the Coupling Success Rate of Photosynthetic Protein Complexes to Cytochrome c
by Arash Takshi, Houman Yaghoubi, Jing Wang, Daniel Jun and J. Thomas Beatty
Biosensors 2017, 7(2), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios7020016 - 30 Mar 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6914
Abstract
Due to the high internal quantum efficiency, reaction center (RC) proteins from photosynthetic organisms have been studied in various bio-photoelectrochemical devices for solar energy harvesting. In vivo, RC and cytochrome c (cyt c; a component of the biological electron transport chain) can [...] Read more.
Due to the high internal quantum efficiency, reaction center (RC) proteins from photosynthetic organisms have been studied in various bio-photoelectrochemical devices for solar energy harvesting. In vivo, RC and cytochrome c (cyt c; a component of the biological electron transport chain) can form a cocomplex via interprotein docking. This mechanism can be used in vitro for efficient electron transfer from an electrode to the RC in a bio-photoelectrochemical device. Hence, the success rate in coupling RCs to cyt c is of great importance for practical applications in the future. In this work, we use an electrochemical transistor to study the binding of the RC to cytochrome. The shift in the transistor threshold voltage was measured in the dark and under illumination to estimate the density of cytochrome and coupled RCs on the gate of the transistor. The results show that ~33% of the cyt cs on the transistor gate were able to effectively couple with RCs. Due to the high sensitivity of the transistor, the approach can be used to make photosensors for detecting low light intensities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophotonic Sensors and Applications)
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Review

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3665 KiB  
Review
Towards a Uniform Metrological Assessment of Grating-Based Optical Fiber Sensors: From Refractometers to Biosensors
by Francesco Chiavaioli, Carlos A. J. Gouveia, Pedro A. S. Jorge and Francesco Baldini
Biosensors 2017, 7(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios7020023 - 21 Jun 2017
Cited by 339 | Viewed by 13887
Abstract
A metrological assessment of grating-based optical fiber sensors is proposed with the aim of providing an objective evaluation of the performance of this sensor category. Attention was focused on the most common parameters, used to describe the performance of both optical refractometers and [...] Read more.
A metrological assessment of grating-based optical fiber sensors is proposed with the aim of providing an objective evaluation of the performance of this sensor category. Attention was focused on the most common parameters, used to describe the performance of both optical refractometers and biosensors, which encompassed sensitivity, with a distinction between volume or bulk sensitivity and surface sensitivity, resolution, response time, limit of detection, specificity (or selectivity), reusability (or regenerability) and some other parameters of generic interest, such as measurement uncertainty, accuracy, precision, stability, drift, repeatability and reproducibility. Clearly, the concepts discussed here can also be applied to any resonance-based sensor, thus providing the basis for an easier and direct performance comparison of a great number of sensors published in the literature up to now. In addition, common mistakes present in the literature made for the evaluation of sensor performance are highlighted, and lastly a uniform performance assessment is discussed and provided. Finally, some design strategies will be proposed to develop a grating-based optical fiber sensing scheme with improved performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophotonic Sensors and Applications)
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