Non-linear transduction strategies for chemo/biosensing on small length scales

Abstract

As the function of optically-based chemo/biosensors (CBsensors) evolves towards micro- and nanoscale dimensions, the sensitivity of the device is compromised because there are simply too few reporting active sites. We see this issue as the fundamental challenge confronting the design of small length scale CBsensors, providing an imperative for the development of new optical transduction strategies. To address this challenge, we are currently fabricating: (i) new materials that will amplify the primary optical signal from the CBsensing active site in micro- and nano-environments and (ii) new sensing elements and devices to achieve high gain from a non-linear optical response. We present here the synthesis and characterization of two platforms poised for sensing by non-linear transduction.