Optical sensor for analyte detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9410887-B2
Application number	US-201314046739-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 4, 2013
Priority date	Oct 5, 2012
Publication date	Aug 9, 2016
Grant date	Aug 9, 2016

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for detection of an analyte in a sample are disclosed. In some embodiments, an optical sensor can include a metallic layer and a plurality of dielectric pillars extending through the metallic layer. A plurality of regions of concentrated light can be supported in proximity to the ends of the plurality of dielectric pillars when a surface of the metallic layer is illuminated. Concentrated light within one or more of these regions can interact with an analyte molecule, allowing for detection of the analyte.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device for detecting an analyte within a sample, the device comprising:
a metallic layer; and
a plurality of solid dielectric pillars extending through the metallic layer, the individual pillars having a uniform composition,
wherein a plurality of regions of concentrated light are supported on one side of the device in proximity to the ends of the plurality of dielectric pillars when an opposite side of the device is illuminated and light propagates through the plurality of dielectric pillars.

2. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a dielectric layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the metallic layer is formed on the top surface of the dielectric layer, and wherein the plurality of regions of concentrated light are supported in proximity to the ends of the plurality of dielectric pillars when the bottom surface of the metallic layer is illuminated.

3. The device of claim 2 , further comprising a window formed on the bottom surface of the dielectric layer below the plurality of dielectric pillars.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of regions of concentrated light comprise spatially-separated voxels above each of the plurality of dielectric pillars to which the light is substantially confined.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electric field strength of the light decays exponentially with height above the plurality of dielectric pillars.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of dielectric pillars has a circular cross-section.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of dielectric pillars has a non-rotationally symmetric cross-section.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dielectric pillars comprise a first pillar oriented with a first angular orientation, and a second pillar oriented with a different second angular orientation.

9. The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dielectric pillars comprise a first pillar with a first cross-sectional aspect ratio, and a second pillar with a second cross-sectional aspect ratio.

10. The device of claim 1 , further comprising an optical detector configured to receive light from an object located in one of the regions of concentrated light, the analyte being capable of being detected based on the received light.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the optical detector is capable of measuring detected light at a plurality of wavelengths.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric pillars comprise silicon dioxide.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein metallic layer comprises gold.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric pillars are functionalized such that the plurality of dielectric pillars are capable of specifically binding to an analyte of interest.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of dielectric pillars are tapered.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the narrowest portion of a tapered dielectric pillar is located on the side of the device nearest where a region of concentrated light is supported.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the metallic layer has a thickness of between about 100 nm and about 500 nm.

18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric pillars have a cross-sectional size of between about λ/500 and about λ/2, where λ is the center wavelength of the light used to illuminate the device.

19. An analyte detection method comprising:
pumping an optical sensor with light, the optical sensor comprising a metallic layer, and a plurality of solid dielectric pillars extending through the metallic layer, the individual pillars having a uniform composition; and
receiving light from the optical sensor to detect an analyte of interest in a sample located in proximity to the optical sensor,
wherein pumping the optical sensor with light from one side of the optical sensor causes a plurality of regions of concentrated light to be supported on the other side of the optical sensor in proximity to the ends of the plurality of dielectric pillars when light propagates through the plurality of dielectric pillars.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the light from the optical sensor to detect an analyte of interest comprises light from at least one of the regions of concentrated light.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the light from the optical sensor to detect an analyte of interest comprises light emitted from a labeled analyte molecule located within at least one of the regions of concentrated light.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the labeled analyte molecule is specifically bound to one of the dielectric pillars.

23. The method of claim 19 , further comprising measuring detected light from the optical sensor at a plurality of wavelengths and detecting the analyte based on a change in the spectrum caused by the presence of the analyte within at least one of the regions of concentrated light.

Assignees

• California Inst Of Techn

Inventors

• Walavalkar Sameer Sudhir
• Homyk Andrew Peter
• Jones William Maxwell
• Scherer Axel
• Fraser Scott
• Truong Thai Viet

Classifications

• G01N21/6428

  Measuring fluorescence of fluorescent products of reactions or of fluorochrome labelled reactive substances, e.g. measuring quenching effects, using measuring "optrodes" (in vivo A61B5/00; immunoassay G01N33/53) · CPC title

• G01N21/648

  using evanescent coupling or surface plasmon coupling for the excitation of fluorescence · CPC title

• G01N21/63 Primary

  optically excited · CPC title

• G01N21/6458 Primary

  Fluorescence microscopy (fluorescence microscopes per se G02B21/0076 and G02B21/16) · CPC title