University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Improved microarray sensitivity using photonic crystal enhanced fluorescence

Mathias, Patrick C.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16027

Description

Title
Improved microarray sensitivity using photonic crystal enhanced fluorescence
Author(s)
Mathias, Patrick C.
Issue Date
2010-05-19T18:32:41Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Cunningham, Brian T.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Cunningham, Brian T.
Committee Member(s)
  • Vodkin, Lila O.
  • Wang, Yingxiao
  • Zhong, Sheng
Department of Study
Bioengineering
Discipline
Bioengineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • enhanced fluorescence
  • photonic crystal
  • microarray
  • biosensor
Abstract
Assays using fluorescent molecules have become popular tools across various life sciences disciplines because of their ability to localize and quantify relevant biomolecules such as DNA and proteins. Microarrays in particular have enabled researchers and clinicians to monitor gene expression and protein concentrations in a high-throughput fashion, providing valuable information about cellular and systemic function. Despite the proliferation of research on modifying fluorescence with optical resonances, there have been few evaluations of the practical impact of enhanced fluorescence on high-throughput biological assays such as microrarrays. This work details the application of photonic crystal (PC) surfaces as a platform for fluorescence enhancement. The enhancement properties of PCs are explored as a function of resonant wavelength, and these properties are applied to design a PC optimized to enhance fluorescence in a commercial microarray scanner. The impact of PC enhanced fluorescence on the sensitivity of a protein microarray is evaluated, demonstrating the assay detection limit is reduced by an order of magnitude for a cytokine biomarker. Finally, PCs are applied as substrates in a DNA microarray, increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by one order of magnitude and increasing the number of genes identified as differentially expressed by a factor of >2x relative to glass slides.
Graduation Semester
2010-5
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16027
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2010 Patrick C. Mathias

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