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Biosensing Using Porous Silicon Double-Layer Interferometers: Reflective Interferometric Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

Claudia Pacholski,^† Marta Sartor,^† Michael J. Sailor,*^† Frédérique Cunin,^‡ and Gordon M. Miskelly^§

Contribution from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gillman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0358, UMR CNRS/ENSCM 5618, 8 rue de l'cole normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 5, France, and Department of Chemistry, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127 (33), pp 11636–11645

DOI: 10.1021/ja0511671

Publication Date (Web): July 29, 2005

†

The University of California, San Diego.

In papers with more than one author, the asterisk indicates the name of the author to whom inquiries about the paper should be addressed.

‡

UMR CNRS/ENSCM 5618.

The University of Auckland.

, msailor@ucsd.edu

Abstract

A simple, chip-based implementation of a double-beam interferometer that can separate biomolecules based on size and that can compensate for changes in matrix composition is introduced. The interferometric biosensor uses a double-layer of porous Si comprised of a top layer with large pores and a bottom layer with smaller pores. The structure is shown to provide an on-chip reference channel analogous to a double-beam spectrometer, but where the reference and sample compartments are stacked one on top of the other. The reflectivity spectrum of this structure displays a complicated interference pattern whose individual components can be resolved by fitting of the reflectivity data to a simple interference model or by fast Fourier transform (FFT). Shifts of the FFT peaks indicate biomolecule penetration into the different layers. The small molecule, sucrose, penetrates into both porous Si layers, whereas the large protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), only enters the large pores. BSA can be detected even in a large (100-fold by mass) excess of sucrose from the FFT spectrum. Detection can be accomplished either by computing the weighted difference in the frequencies of two peaks or by computing the ratio of the intensities of two peaks in the FFT spectrum.

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