We report experimental results of label-free anti-bovine serum albumin (anti-BSA) antibody detection using a SOI planar photonic crystal waveguide previously bio-functionalized with complementary BSA antigen probes. Sharp fringes appearing in the slow-light regime near the edge of the guided band are used to perform the sensing. We have modeled the presence of these band edge fringes and demonstrated the possibility of using them for sensing purposes by performing refractive index variations detection, achieving a sensitivity of 174.8 nm/RIU. Then, label-free anti-BSA biosensing experiments have been carried out, estimating a surface mass density detection limit below 2.1 pg/mm² and a total mass detection limit below 0.2 fg.

While there have been huge advances in the field of biosensors during the last decade, their integration into a microfluidic environment avoiding external tubing and pumping is still neglected. Herein, we show a new microfluidic design that integrates multiple reservoirs for reagent storage and single-use electrochemical pumps for time-controlled delivery of the liquids. The cartridge has been tested and validated with a silicon nitride-based photonic biosensor incorporating multiple optical ring resonators as sensing elements and an immunoassay as a potential target application. Based on experimental results obtained with a demonstration model, subcomponents were designed and existing protocols were adapted. The newly-designed microfluidic cartridges and photonic sensors were separately characterized on a technical basis and performed well. Afterwards, the sensor was functionalized for a protein detection. The microfluidic cartridge was loaded with the necessary assay reagents. The integrated pumps were programmed to drive the single process steps of an immunoassay. The prototype worked selectively, but only with a low sensitivity. Further work must be carried out to optimize biofunctionalization of the optical ring resonators and to have a more suitable flow velocity progression to enhance the system’s reproducibility.

In this paper we present the development of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) biosensors for the label-free detection of six emerging and endemic swine viruses, namely: African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PPRSV), Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2), and Swine Influenza Virus A (SIV). The optical biosensors are based on evanescent wave technology and, in particular, on Resonant Rings (RRs) fabricated in silicon nitride. The novel biosensors were packaged in an integrated sensing cartridge that included a microfluidic channel for buffer/sample delivery and an optical fiber array for the optical operation of the PICs. Antibodies were used as molecular recognition elements (MREs) and were selected based on western blotting and ELISA experiments to ensure the high sensitivity and specificity of the novel sensors. MREs were immobilized on RR surfaces to capture viral antigens. Antibody–antigen interactions were transduced via the RRs to a measurable resonant shift. Cell culture supernatants for all of the targeted viruses were used to validate the biosensors. Resonant shift responses were dose-dependent. The results were obtained within the framework of the SWINOSTICS project, contributing to cover the need of the novel diagnostic tools to tackle swine viral diseases.