Plasmonic Biosensing with Aluminum Thin Films under the Kretschmann Configuration.
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ABSTRACT: Aluminum has recently attracted considerable interest as a plasmonic material due to its unique optical properties, but most work has been limited to nanostructures. We report here SPR biosensing with aluminum thin-films using the standard Kretschmann configuration that has previously been dominated by gold films. Electron-beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD)-prepared Al films oxidize in air to form a nanofilm of Al2O3, yielding robust stability for sensing applications in buffered solutions. FDTD simulations revealed a sharp plasmonic dip in the visible range that enables measurement of both angular shift and reflection intensity change at a fixed angle. Bulk and surface tests indicated that Al films exhibited superb sensitivity performance in both categories. Compared to Au, the Al/Al2O3 layer showed a marked effect of suppressing nonspecific binding from proteins in human serum. Further characterization indicated that Al film demonstrated a higher sensitivity and a wider working range than Au films when used for SPR imaging analysis. Combined with its economic and manufacturing benefits, the Al thin-film has the potential to become a highly advantageous plasmonic substrate to meet a wide range of biosensing needs in SPR configurations.
SUBMITTER: Lambert AS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8371922 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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