Robust paper-based plasmonic biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics

The overarching aim of this project is to develop the next generation of robust and affordable point-of-care (PoC) plasmonic biosensors.

These biosensors will be paper-based to enable their facile fabrication and employment in resource-limited areas without the need of sophisticated infrastructure and specialized personnel.

A key aspect here is the reproducible and scalable fabrication of these biosensors, which is currently the main bottleneck for their broad employment.

We will address this challenge by utilizing a nanofabrication process famous for its scalability and reproducibility, namely flame aerosol technology, and combine nanoparticle production and functional layer deposition in a single-step with close attention to product nanoparticle properties and assembly of devicesto assist rapid commercialization.

We will focus on two distinct biosensors: (i) colorimetric biosensors to enable analyte detection with simple equipment (e.g. mobile phone camera) or even the bare eyes, and (ii) surface-enhanced-Raman scattering (SERS) sensors based on nanoparticles deposited on filter paper in-situ during fabrication.

The engineering approach for development of plasmonic paper-based biosensors by flame technology will provide knowledge and insight into the basic physicochemical principles and understanding to assist in process scale up and industrial utilization.