Several advances have been made in directing the transport of chemical agents across surfaces, most recently through the use of enthalpic gradients embedded in polymer brushes or hydrogels. However, the interfacing with complementary methods to robustly detect such transported analytes is needed. Not all species of interest have convenient chromophoric or fluorogenic signatures, and in these cases the detection of universal properties, such as refractive index, provides an attractive analytical alternative. Silicon photonic microring resonators are robust, sensitive, and versatile refractive index detectors that are broadly applicable to a range of analytical challenges. Moreover, these sensors are amenable to a wide range of surface functionalization methods, including the growth of hydrogels and polymer brushes, which could further expand the detection capabilities of this platform to include chemical agents. The combination of microring resonators with recent advances in the creation of precisely controlled gradients within polymeric surfaces might allow for the active and directed transport of concentrated analytes onto specific sensor elements, thereby integrating together the often disparate steps of separation, concentration, and detection to a single sensing device.

Silicon photonic microring resonators for chemical agent transport

251st National Meeting (2016)

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