Fiber optic biosensor is an analytical device that uses optical fibers as the transduction element and detects target biomolecules by optical transduction mechanisms. INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer based on the unique fiber optic particle plasmon resonance (FOPPR™) sensor technology is an ultrasensitive biosensor for real-time and label-free detection of biomolecular interactions. From core technology to microfluidic chip design, system instrumentation to analysis software, our analyzers provide innovative solutions for a wide range of biomarker research.
Biomarker analyzers based FOPPR™ sensor technology
FOPPR™ Sensor Technology
Optical biosensors have high sensitivity, excellent specificity and multifunctionality as well as real-time monitoring of the reactions between biomolecules. Therefore, various optical biosensors have been used in environmental monitoring, disease detection, food safety, biochemical research, drug discovery and many other fields. However, some optical detection techniques have some disadvantages such as high prices, time requirements, the need for specific operators, large sizes and difficult field assays. Responding to these challenges, FOPPR™ technology was developed, which is a new-generation optical sensor technology combining a fiber optic assembly with noble metal nanoparticles.
The principle of FOPPR™ is to use the evanescent wave generated during the total reflection transfer of light in the optical fiber core to excite gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the surface of the fiber core, so that free electrons on the surface of AuNPs can perform collective dipole oscillation particle plasma resonance (PPR) phenomenon, also known as local surface plasma resonance (LSPR) phenomenon. Unlike conventional surface plasma resonance (SPR), PPR of nanoparticles is not angle-dependent. Thus, generation of PPR with an optical fiber does not require precise optical alignment. The PPR phenomenon can change the resonance energy with the changes of environmental refractive index or dielectric constant, making it suitable for testing and analyzing the molecular interactions among different molecular species.
Biosensors Based on FOPPR™ Technology
Compared to the labelled biomarker detection, label-free biomarker detection can be used in more complex environments. In INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer, the integration of sensing components with a unique INChip microfluidic design enables liquid sample analysis without the use of external pumps or tubes. This reduces instrumentation complexity and eliminates complex system maintenance requirements while containing all waste fluids within the disposable sensor chips. In addition, INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer utilizes a light emitting diode (LED) and a photodiode (PD) as the excitation light source and detector for each sensing channel, respectively. Unlike conventional light sources and photo detectors, the use of these optical components reduces the need for large chambers or complex optical alignment, making the system compact and simple to use. Benefiting from the angle-independency of PPR, INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer employs a self-calibrated data analysis algorithm, which alleviates the need for precise optical alignment while ensuring data precision.
Prior studies have indicated that the INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer can be successfully used in various applications of chemical and biochemical domains and that it is characterized by real-time detection, high specificity and high speed.
Specifications of INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer
|
|
| Signal Obtained |
Affinity, Specificity, Quantitation, Qualification |
| Sample Type |
Protein, Antigen, Plasma, Serum, and many more |
| Analysis Temperature |
Room temperature |
| Molecular Weight Range |
> 10 KDa |
| Signal Noise |
< 0.015 % (RSD) |
| Sensitivity |
~ pg / mL |
| Analysis Time |
5 - 15 min |
| Sample Volume |
80 μL |
| Recording Mode of Binding Signal |
Static (without syringe pump) |
| Sensing Type |
Label-free and real-time detection |
| Sensing Channel |
Two/eight individual sensing channels |
Reliability of INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer
To demonstrate the reliability of the system, solutions with different refractive index were measured with the INB Light-Sensing Biomarker Analyzer (Fig. 1), and the signal ratio of each refractive index solution against the solution refractive index was plotted (Fig. 2). The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the data points in the 300-second time for each solution was less than 0.01%, showing the low noise of the optical system. The coefficient of variation (CV) for the linearly-fitted slopes of sensor chips was 2.43%, while maintaining a CV for each solution was less than 10%, as shown in Table 1.
Thus, the INChip microfluidic design and compact instrument do not compromise system reliability or accuracy, and the FOPPR™ -based biomarker analyzer provides a platform for a variety of biomolecular analysis needs with high sensitivity and wide linear range.
Fig. 1 Refractive index solutions response sensorgram
Fig. 2 Refractive index vs. signal ratio plot
Table 1. Top: intra-machine inter-chip slope CV for six refractive index solution measurements; Bottom: the signal ratio CV for each refractive index solution measurement
.
