I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Multiplex Optical Biosensor

This I-Corps project focuses on the development of a new biosensor for rapid, highly sensitive, and specific detection of proteins and nucleic acids. Biosensors aim to identify, characterize, and quantify biological compounds to understand their structure, function, and interactions within living systems. However, biosensors face challenges in detecting and quantifying these compounds in complex biological samples. This solution introduces a biosensor capable of detecting very small biological compounds such as proteins or nucleic acids. This sensor is able to detect multiple compounds simultaneously, representing an advance for rapid diagnostics and drug discovery. The solution is particularly relevant for sepsis detection. Sepsis is a critical health issue in the United States and worldwide, affecting about 50 million people annually, costing more than $38 billion per year in the United States alone, and causing 19% of all global deaths. The growing issue of antibiotic resistance further exacerbates this problem, creating an urgent need for novel diagnostic techniques to replace inefficient and costly blood culturing methods currently used in hospitals. This biosensor has the potential to address that need, improving patient outcomes and advancing national health and welfare. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. This solution is based on the development of an extremely sensitive and multiplexed optical biosensor by incorporating singularities in open optical systems, known as exceptional points. The nanophotonic device consists of a periodic array of coupled gold nanobars arranged on a glass substrate, forming a plasmonic metasurface engineered to operate at an exceptional point. This structure is highly sensitive to small changes in its environment and enables the detection of proteins and nucleic acids at very low concentrations through functionalization with specific molecular probes. Each individual metasurface is a 30 micron × 30 micron square, allowing more than 10,000 devices to be integrated into a single 1 cm × 1 cm chip. This dense arrangement supports high throughput, multiplexed biosensing by targeting different biomarkers on the same chip. Operating at an exceptional point enhances sensitivity by approximately 300 times compared to conventional biosensors. Due to its unique sensitivity, scalability, and multiplexing capabilities, this technology offers strong potential for commercialization across a wide range of diagnostic applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.