Hydrogel-Based, High-Sensitivity, Hybrid Optical Transducer for Biomolecular Interaction Monitoring

What is it about?

How can the mechanical properties of hydrogels and the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles be exploited as a biosensing device? In this paper, we propose the fabrication, characterization, and functionalization of a hybrid plasmonic transducer made of spherical gold nanoparticles embedded in a high molecular weight hydrogel as a dual-mode optical device capable of selectively and accurately quantifying high molecular weight proteins by simple absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence. The highly reproducible flexible platform can be a promising alternative to rigid sensors for biosensing purposes.

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Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We envisage that this work could pave the way to the design of integrated nanoplasmonic platforms for multiplexed sensing with implications in rapid and low-cost healthcare monitoring, water cleaning, and environmental monitoring. Moreover, the flexible nature of the transducer is also attractive for its inclusion in wearable devices, or portable instrumentation without significant difficulties.