title: Extreme sensitivity biosensing platform based on hyperbolic metamaterials.
abstract: Optical sensor technology offers significant opportunities in the field of medical research and clinical diagnostics, particularly for the detection of small numbers of molecules in highly diluted solutions. Several methods have been developed for this purpose, including label-free plasmonic biosensors based on metamaterials. However, the detection of lower-molecular-weight (<500 Da) biomolecules in highly diluted solutions is still a challenging issue owing to their lower polarizability. In this context, we have developed a miniaturized plasmonic biosensor platform based on a hyperbolic metamaterial that can support highly confined bulk plasmon guided modes over a broad wavelength range from visible to near infrared. By exciting these modes using a grating-coupling technique, we achieved different extreme sensitivity modes with a maximum of 30,000 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) and a record figure of merit (FOM) of 590. We report the ability of the metamaterial platform to detect ultralow-molecular-weight (244 Da) biomolecules at picomolar concentrations using a standard affinity model streptavidin-biotin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Kandammathe Valiyaveedu
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Sreekanth
authors.affiliation: Case Biomanufacturing and Microfabrication Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Yunus
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3064-7342
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alapan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ElKabbash
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Efe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ilker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hinczewski
authors.affiliation: Case Biomanufacturing and Microfabrication Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.|Biomedical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.|Department of Orthopedics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.|Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Umut A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0331-9960
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Gurkan
authors.affiliation: CNR-NANOTEC Istituto di Nanotecnologia and Department of Physics, University of Calabria, 87036-Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.|CNR-NANOTEC Istituto di Nanotecnologia and Department of Physics, University of Calabria, 87036-Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Strangi
mesh_terms: D001710:Biotin / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019809:Streptavidin / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001710:Biotin; D019809:Streptavidin