Fabrication and Optimization of Bilayered Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Structures as Multi-Point Interferometric Sensing Platform (original) (raw)
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Analytical Chemistry, 2013
Herein, we present a comparative study about the sensing performance of optical biosensors based on photoluminescence spectroscopy (PLS) and reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS) combined with nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) platforms when detecting different analytes under distinct adsorption conditions. First, NAA platforms are structurally engineered in order for optimizing the optical signals obtained by PLS and RIfS. Then, the most optimal NAA platforms combined with PLS and RIfS are quantitatively compared by detecting two different analytes: Dglucose and L-cysteine under nonspecific and specific adsorption conditions, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate that such parameters as the analyte nature and adsorption conditions play a direct role in the sensing performance of these platforms. However, as this study demonstrates, PLS-NAA platforms are more sensitive than RIfS-NAA ones. The former shows better linearity (i.e., proportional change in the sensing parameter with analyte concentration), higher sensitivity toward analytes (i.e., sharper change in the sensing parameter with analyte concentration), and lower limit of detection (i.e., minimum detectable concentration of analyte).
Nanoporous Anodic Alumina: A Versatile Platform for Optical Biosensors
Nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) has become one of the most promising nanomaterials in optical biosensing as a result of its unique physical and chemical properties. Many studies have demonstrated the outstanding capabilities of NAA for developing optical biosensors in combination with different optical techniques. These results reveal that NAA is a promising alternative to other widely explored nanoporous platforms, such as porous silicon. This review is aimed at reporting on the recent advances and current stage of development of NAA-based optical biosensing devices. The different optical detection techniques, principles and concepts are described in detail along with relevant examples of optical biosensing devices using NAA sensing platforms. Furthermore, we summarise the performance of these devices and provide a future perspective on this promising research field.
Current Trends in Nanoporous Anodized Alumina Platforms for Biosensing Applications
Journal of Nanomaterials, 2016
Pristine aluminum (Al) has received great deal of attention on fabrication of nanoporous anodized alumina (NAA) with arrays of nanosized uniform pores with controllable pore sizes and lengths by the anodization process. There are many applications of NAA in the field of biosensors due to its numerous key factors such as ease of fabrication, high surface area, chemical stability and detection of biomolecules through bioconjugation of active molecules, its rapidness, and real-time monitoring. Herein, we reviewed the recent trends on the fabrication of NAA for high sensitive biosensor platforms like bare sensors, gold coated sensors, multilayer sensors, and microfluidic device supported sensors for the detection of various biomolecules. In addition, we have discussed the future prospectus about the improvement of NAA based biosensors for the detection of biomolecules.
Electrochemical anodization of pure aluminum enables the growth of highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) structures. This has made NAA one of the most popular nanomaterials with applications including molecular separation, catalysis, photonics, optoelectronics, sensing, drug delivery, and template synthesis. Over the past decades, the ability to engineer the structure and surface chemistry of NAA and its optical properties has led to the establishment of distinctive photonic structures that can be explored for developing low-cost, portable, rapid-response and highly sensitive sensing devices in combination with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and reflective interference spectroscopy (RIfS) techniques. This review article highlights the recent advances on fabrication, surface modification and structural engineering of NAA and its application and performance as a platform for SPR-and RIfS-based sensing and biosensing devices.
Engineering optical properties of gold-coated nanoporous anodic alumina for biosensing
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2014
The effect in the Fabry-Pérot optical interferences of nanoporous anodic alumina films coated with gold is studied as a function of the porosity and of the gold thickness by means of reflectance spectroscopy. Samples with porosities between 14 and 70% and gold thicknesses (10 and 20 nm) were considered. The sputtering of gold on the nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) films results in an increase of the fringe intensity of the oscillations in the spectra resulting from Fabry-Pérot interferences in the porous layer, with a reduction in the maximum reflectance in the UV-visible region. For the thicker gold layer, sharp valleys appear in the near-infrared (IR) range that can be useful for accurate spectral shift measurements in optical biosensing. A theoretical model for the optical behavior has also been proposed. The model shows a very good agreement with the experimental measurements, what makes it useful for design and optimization of devices based on this material. This material capability is enormous for using it as an accurate and sensitive optical sensor, since gold owns a well-known surface chemistry with certain molecules, most of them biomolecules.
Size-Tunable Porous Anodic Alumina Nano-Structure for Biosensing
Soft Nanoscience Letters, 2011
A porous anodic alumina (PAA) film has been investigated to realise highly-ordered nano-porous structures. A two-step anodization process is used to anodize aluminium into size-controllable aluminium oxide. In this paper, we investigate how anodization parameters affect nano-porous structures, such as voltage and time of pretreatment, anodization voltage and time, pore widening time. The results showed pretreatment is important to obtain a smooth surface for anodizing. The pore size is controllable between 30 and 80 nm, with a linear fit curve. The interpore size is constant at around 95 nm, and the pore densities are between 10 10 and 10 11 cm-2. The formation of straight vertical walls is crucial if the PAA film is to be subsequently used as the template for the growth of metal nanowire arrays.
Nanomaterials
The chemical modification, or functionalization, of the surfaces of nanomaterials is a key step to achieve biosensors with the best sensitivity and selectivity. The surface modification of biosensors usually comprises several modification steps that have to be optimized. Real-time monitoring of all the reactions taking place during such modification steps can be a highly helpful tool for optimization. In this work, we propose nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) functionalized with the streptavidin-biotin complex as a platform towards label-free biosensors. Using reflective interferometric spectroscopy (RIfS), the streptavidin-biotin complex formation, using biotinylated thrombin as a molecule model, was monitored in real-time. The study compared the performance of different NAA pore sizes in order to achieve the highest response. Furthermore, the optimal streptavidin concentration that enabled the efficient detection of the biotinylated thrombin attachment was estimated. Finally, the ab...
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2012
Here, we present a systematic study about the effect of the pore length and its diameter on the specular reflection in nanoporous anodic alumina. As we demonstrate, the specular reflection can be controlled at will by structural tuning (i.e., by designing the pore geometry). This makes it possible to produce a wide range of Fabry-Pérot interferometers based on nanoporous anodic alumina, which are envisaged for developing smart and accurate optical sensors in such research fields as biotechnology and medicine. Additionally, to systematize the responsiveness to external changes in optical sensors based on nanoporous anodic alumina, we put forward a barcode system based on the oscillations in the specular reflection.
Controlling interferometric properties of nanoporous anodic aluminium oxide
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2012
A study of reflective interference spectroscopy [RIfS] properties of nanoporous anodic aluminium oxide [AAO] with the aim to develop a reliable substrate for label-free optical biosensing is presented. The influence of structural parameters of AAO including pore diameters, inter-pore distance, pore length, and surface modification by deposition of Au, Ag, Cr, Pt, Ni, and TiO 2 on the RIfS signal (Fabry-Perot fringe) was explored. AAO with controlled pore dimensions was prepared by electrochemical anodization of aluminium using 0.3 M oxalic acid at different voltages (30 to 70 V) and anodization times (10 to 60 min). Results show the strong influence of pore structures and surface modifications on the interference signal and indicate the importance of optimisation of AAO pore structures for RIfS sensing. The pore length/pore diameter aspect ratio of AAO was identified as a suitable parameter to tune interferometric properties of AAO. Finally, the application of AAO with optimised pore structures for sensing of a surface binding reaction of alkanethiols (mercaptoundecanoic acid) on gold surface is demonstrated.
Nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) presents interesting optical properties such as the Fabry-Pérot interference phenomenon, which can be used for sensing purposes. Optical sensing with NAA requires the determination of the material's effective refractive index from the interference spectra and its variation when the analyte interacts with NAA pores in a non-specific or selective way. In this work, we propose an alternative approach to deal with Fabry-Pérot interference spectra as an analytical signal for optical sensors: multivariate analysis. As a proof of concept, NAA substrates were employed in the determination of glucose by photoluminescence spectroscopy. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares (PLS) regression were used to qualitatively investigate spectra profile changes with increasing concentrations of glucose, and to establish a quantitative regression model to determine glucose concentrations from the photoluminescence spectra, respectively. Results showed that multivariate analysis can be used in Fabry-Pérot interferences to obtain optical sensors responses.