Measuring the binding kinetics of molecular systems is fundamental in understanding the interaction between biomolecules within a binding pair. One emerging label-free detection method is based on silica optical microcavities. The majority of research to date with microcavity-based sensors has focused on applications in the diagnostics realm. Here, we develop and characterize a covalent surface attachment strategy for microsphere resonators. We also measure the optical performance (quality factor) of the functionalized microcavities and use them to determine the dissociation constant of the biotinstreptavidin pair. The measured value is within acceptable range of previously published dissociation constants for the biotin-streptavidin pair.

Date Published: 12 September 2011
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8099, Biosensing and Nanomedicine IV, 80990O (12 September 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.892782

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8099:
Biosensing and Nanomedicine IV
Hooman Mohseni; Massoud H. Agahi; Manijeh Razeghi, Editor(s)