PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 23, 2010
Proc. SPIE. 7750, Photonics North 2010
KEYWORDS: Gold, Refractive index, MATLAB, Microfluidics, Surface plasmons, Light emitting diodes, Interfaces, Multiplexing, Charge-coupled devices, Prototyping
Extraordinary optical transmission through nanohole arrays in metal films shows enhanced performance in surface
plasmon resonance sensing, and efforts to develop this technology have been undertaken by many research groups
worldwide. The challenge is to integrate a nanohole array sensor into a handheld design that is compact, cost effective,
and capable of multiplexing. A number of implementations have been suggested, using components such as lasers and
spectrometers, but these designs are often bulky, expensive and unacceptably noisy. We have developed an approach
that is simple, inexpensive and reliable: an integrated handheld SPR imaging sensing platform using the nanohole array
chip as the sensing element, a two-color LED source for spectral diversity, and a CCD module for multiplexed detection.
A PDMS microfluidic chip made by conventional photolithographic techniques is assembled with the nanohole arrays
and incorporated into the integrated module in order to transport the testing solutions, which offers the flexibility for
future multiplexing. Results of preliminary tests show surface binding detection and have been promising.
