Biophotonics research from MST on the cover of the "Lab on a chip" journal
Biosensing devices with optical waveguide chips and innovative microfluidic functions, fabricated by the KTH Microsystem Technology Lab, are featured as a cover article in the "Lab on a chip" journal.
SABIO - Nanophotonic biosensors for immunoassays
In the EU FP6 project SABIO, KTH and the other partners have demonstrated the first optical ring-resonator sensor array integrated and fully packaged with a microfluidic channel network. A novel kind of optical waveguide called slot waveguide has been used to give a very high sensitivity to changes in the refractive index of a fluid on top of the waveguide. In this case the refractive index change comes from minute amounts of bio-substances attaching to the waveguide surface. With a detection limit of 0.9 pg/mm2 this can be used to monitor immunoreactions on the waveguide surface.
In the SABIO project a chip with several slot waveguide-based sensors are combined with a microfluidic polymer layer with microchannels for sample transport. This kind of fully packaged sensing device, in essence a lab-on-a-chip, ready to put in a readout instrument, is an important step towards putting advanced immuno-tests on the desk of the single general medical practitioner at the point of care.
Point of care analysis can provide immediate results, making referral to a central lab and revisits to the doctor unnecessary. In the SABIO device we also demonstrated multiple sensors on the same chip. This makes it possible to simultaneously test for several illnesses, perhaps with similar symptoms.
The SABIO project ran 2005-2008 but the major publications from the projet are now appearing. The paper in "Lab on chip" (Carlborg et. al. "A packaged optical slot-waveguide ring resonator sensor array for multiplex label-free assays in labs-on-chips", Lab Chip, 2010, 10, 281 - 290, DOI: 10.1039/b914183a) gives a good overview of the achievements.
The Microsystem Technology lab is now continuing the work towards practical lab-on-a chip devices in the project "INTOPSENS - photonic biosensors for whole blood sepsis diagnostics"
SABIO Links
Link to the Lab on a chip paper
MST Contact person for SABIO: Hans Sohlström
Intopsens links
Intopsens in the KTH-MST web page
MST Contact person for Intopsens: Wouter van der Wijngaart