| 摘要 |
Coupled fiber-optic, evanescent-wave biosensors are improved through the use of configurations which detect changes in polarization for enhanced sensitivity. In contrast to existing techniques, wherein the fibers are twisted while pulled to disrupt polarization orientation, the inventive approach forms the necked-down region by heating and pulling the fibers without twisting them. As such, when polarized light is introduced, including randomly polarized light, the outputs will exhibit a split based upon polarization orientation as well. One or more bindings partners are then attached to the necked-down region and within the evanescent field for very specific and direct detection of minute concentrations of an analyte of interest. The invention is applicable to any type of organic/inorganic material, so long as the interaction of one component causes a change in any optical property detectable by the apparatus. Interactions to which the invention is applicable include, but are not limited to, antigen-antibody, carbohydrate-lectin, receptor-ligand, binding protein-toxin, substrate-enzyme, effector-enzyme, inhibitor-enzyme, complimentary nucleic acid strands, binding protein-vitamin, binding protein-nucleic acid, reactive dye-protein, and reactive dye-nucleic acid interactions. The biomolecule may be linked to the surface of the fusion joint by means of a spacer molecule. Although the invention assumes the use of glass fibers, polymeric fibers may also be used in certain situations. In the preferred embodiment, polarizing beam splitters are employed to detect the split based upon polarization orientation.
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