Highly Ordered, Plasmonic Enhanced Inverse Opal Photonic Crystal for Ultrasensitive Detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B

Abstract

Although there is considerable interest in self-assembly of ordered, porous “inverse opal” structures for optical, electronic, and chemical applications, uncontrolled defect formation limits the usefulness of such materials. Herein, we develop a highly ordered and plasmonic enhanced sensing inverse opal photonic crystal (IOPC) material. The co-assembly of the colloidal template with the matrix material avoids the need for liquid penetration into the preassembled colloidal crystals and minimizes the associated rupture and inhomogeneity of the resulting IOPC. Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) not only act as a “bridge” between recognition elements (aptamers) and IOPCs, but also can amplify optical signals. Furthermore, the enhancement mechanism of Au NPs is simulated by COMSOL. During the detection process, the optical signal of the sensing Au–Apt IOPC responds to the Staphylococcal enterotoxin B with a concentration ranging from 10–2 to 103 pg mL–1, and the limit of detection is 2.820 fg mL–1. Spiked real sample detection indicates that the as-proposed method possessed good accuracy. The sensing Au–Apt IOPC provides an extensive biosensor platform to detect a variety of toxic and harmful substances through replacing the aptamer by other recognition elements, such as antibodies or receptors.

Achieving Functionality and Multifunctionality through Bulk and Interfacial Structuring of Colloidal-Crystal-Templated Materials

“…Even when gold nanoparticles are supported on a dielectric inverse opal structure (e.g., silica inverse opals), a greater Raman signal enhancement is obtained than for unsupported gold nanoparticles or Au–SiO 2 nonphotonic structures . The plasmonic enhancement can then be used to increase sensitivity of different biosensor platforms with specific binding groups bonded to the metal in the 3DOM structure . The complexity of a 3DOM device that relies on localized surface plasmon resonance can be increased even more as illustrated in the following example of a biomedical application.…”

“…131 The plasmonic enhancement can then be used to increase sensitivity of different biosensor platforms with specific binding groups bonded to the metal in the 3DOM structure. 132 The complexity of a 3DOM device that relies on localized surface plasmon resonance can be increased even more as illustrated in the following example of a biomedical application. The internal surface of 3DOM gold was modulated by electrochemical treatment with dopamine hydrochloride as a reducing agent to achieve cluster-like, particle-like, and dendritelike surface morphologies.…”

A bio-inspired colorimetric sensor based on ethylene glycol – non-close-packed photonic crystals for visual monitoring of ammonia

“…Colorimetric sensors based on photonic crystals (PCs) have gained interest in the visual sensing of physical, [17][18][19][20][21][22] chemical [23][24][25] and biological stimuli. [26][27][28] Photonic crystals are periodic dielectric materials, 29,30 and their photonic band gap (PBG) satisfies Bragg's diffraction law:…”

“…Colorimetric sensors based on photonic crystals (PCs) have gained interest in the visual sensing of physical, 17–22 chemical 23–25 and biological stimuli. 26–28 Photonic crystals are periodic dielectric materials, 29,30 and their photonic band gap (PBG) satisfies Bragg's diffraction law: n eff 2 = n A 2 f A + n B 2 (1 − f A )where m is the diffraction order, λ is the photonic band gap, d is the lattice distance, θ is the angle of incidence, n eff is the effective refractive index, n A and n B are the refractive index of medium A and B, respectively, and f A is the total volume percentage of medium A.…”

Scalable and Sensitive Humidity-Responsive Polymer Photonic Crystal Films for Anticounterfeiting Application

“…Usually, PCs with a tunable structural color triggered by external stimuli are called responsive PCs . So far, scientists have studied responsive PCs that respond to various external stimuli, such as temperature, − mechanical force, − light, , electricity, − humidity, − magnetic field, − chemicals, , etc. The unique and diverse response behaviors allow responsive PCs to be widely used for anticounterfeiting applications, such as solvent-responsive PC patterns, thermochromic PC stickers, and so on.…”