title: Nanoporous alumina-based interferometric transducers ennobled.
abstract: A high fidelity interferometric transducer is designed based on platinum-coated nanoporous alumina films. The ultrathin metal coating significantly improves fidelity of the interferometric fringe patterns in aqueous solution and increases the signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of this transducer is tested with respect to refractive index unit (RIU) sensitivity measured as a change in effective optical thickness (EOT) in response to a solvent change and compared to porous silicon based transducers. RIU sensitivity in the order of 55% is attainable for porous alumina providing excellent signal-to-noise ratio, which exceeds the sensitivity of current interferometric transducers. Finally, as a proof-of-principle, we demonstrate biosensing with two distinct immunoglobulin antibodies.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dronov
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jane
authors.forename: Joseph G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Shapter
authors.forename: Alastair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: Nicolas H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Voelcker
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010984:Platinum; D016062:Porosity; D012031:Refractometry; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012825:Silicon; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D010984:Platinum; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D012825:Silicon