Speaker: Laura M. Lechuga (Nanobiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group. Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC, BIST and CIBER-BBN)

Summary:

This presentation will provide an overview on photonic biosensors, including their definition, physical operating principles, theoretical design, fabrication, characterisation and implementation in portable analysis devices. The different types of optical biosensors, including plasmonic and silicon-photonics-based ones as well as the two main practice architectures (resonant and interferometric), will be explained.

Moreover, the multidisciplinary aspects necessary for the full development of photonic biosensors, such as microfluidics, biofunctionalisation of the sensor surface and the integration engineering on “Point-of-care”-type compact and portable analysis platforms, will be described. Finally, concrete application examples of these technologies for the clinical diagnosis of infections (such as COVID-19) and cancer will be shown, as well as their competitive advantages.