WAVEGUIDE GRATING STRUCTURE AND OPTICAL MEASUREMENT ARRANGEMENT

• US 20100026323A1
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Artificial Sensing Instruments ASI AG
• Original Assignee: Artificial Sensing Instruments ASI AG
• Inventors: Tiefenthaler, Kurt
• Granted Patent: US 8,503,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/692
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6463 Optics
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/648 using evanescent coupling or surface plasmon coupling for the excitation of fluorescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6486 Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells G01N21/6428 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/7743 the reagent-coated grating coupling light in or out of the waveguide
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/08 Optical fibres; light guides
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54373 involving physiochemical end-point determination, e.g. wave-guides, FETS, gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12107 Grating
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/124 Geodesic lenses or integrated gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/32 having lens focusing means positioned between opposed fibre ends with lens being an integral part of the single fibre end G02B6/262
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 385/901 Illuminating or display apparatus

Abstract

The present invention describes (bio)chemo-functional waveguide grating structures consisting of at least one (bio)chemo-functional waveguide grating structure unit or at least one (bio)chemo-functional sensor location with beam guidance permitting light beam separation, as well as detection methods for parallel analysis which are marking-free or based on marking.

Claims

1. A sensor for studying cell behaviour, the sensor comprising:

a waveguide grating structure on a substrate with a plurality of waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations;

wherein at least one of said waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one sensing pad with a cell or with cells covering at least partially said at least one waveguide grating structure unit or sensor location; and

wherein the waveguide grating structure has waveguiding properties and comprises at least one grating, and the waveguide grating structure is capable of emitting at least one light field when an incident light field at least partially illuminates the waveguide grating structure.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the cell is a living cell or the cells are living cells.

3. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the cell is a human cell or an animal cell or a plant cell.

4. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises at least partially a modified surface or biocompatible surface or linker layer.

5. The sensor of claim 4, wherein the modified surface is a surface modified in that it is at least partially covered by a silane layer or polymer layer or lipid layer or lipid layer with ion channels or monolayer or bilayer.

6. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises at least partially a monomolecular layer or self-assembled monolayer.

7. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises a waveguide grating.

8. The sensor of claim 7, wherein the waveguide grating is covered at least partially by a cell or by cells.

9. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least two waveguide gratings with an optional waveguide structure region between the two waveguide gratings.

10. The sensor of claim 9, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations includes a waveguide structure region between the two waveguide gratings and is covered by a cell or cells at least partially in said waveguide structure region between the two waveguide gratings.

11. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one signal sensing pad covered at least partially by a cell or cells and at least one reference sensing pad.

12. The sensor of claim 11, wherein the reference sensing pad comprises a cell or cells covering, at least partially, the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations.

13. The sensor of claim 11, wherein the reference sensing pad comprises a modified surface or biocompatible surface or shielding layer covering at least partially the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations.

14. The sensor of claim 11, wherein the reference sensing pad comprises at least one chemofunctional or biochemofunctional substance covering at least partially the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations.

15. The sensor of claim 14, wherein the reference sensing pad is capable of supressing non-specific binding.

16. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a tunable light source capable of generating the incident light field.

17. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a broadband light source capable of generating the incident light field.

18. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a monochromatic light source capable of generating the incident light field.

19. The sensor of claim 1, being equipped for measuring resonant wavelengths or resonant wavelength changes or resonant angles or resonant angle changes or resonant light distributions or resonant light distribution changes.

20. The sensor of claim 1, being equipped for measuring incoupling angles or incoupling angle changes or outcoupling angles or outcoupling angle changes or effective refractive indices or effective refractive index changes.

21. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising at least one liquid holder or sample accommodating device, wherein the at least one liquid holder or sample accommodating device is affixed onto the waveguide grating structure or wherein the waveguide grating structure is inserted into the at least one liquid holder or sample accommodating device.

22. The sensor of claim 21, wherein the liquid holder or sample accommodating device comprises at least one well or at least one flow-through cuvette or at least one capillary cuvette or at least one lab-on-chip.

23. The sensor of claim 21, wherein the liquid holders or sample accommodating devices are arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array like manner or circular ring like manner.

24. The sensor of claim 23, wherein the liquid holders or sample accommodating devices are formed by a well plate.

25. The sensor of claim 23, wherein the arrangement comprises 24 wells or 48 wells or 96 wells or 384 wells or 1536 wells.

26. The sensor of claim 24, wherein the well plate comprises 24 wells or 48 wells or 96 wells or 384 wells or 1536 wells.

27. The sensor of claim 21, wherein the liquid holder or sample accomodating device is at least partially made of scatter radiation absorbing material.

28. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises at least two layers and wherein a grating is located at least at the interface between the two layers.

29. The sensor of claim 1, wherein a grating is located at an interface between the substrate and a waveguiding film.

30. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a plastic or glass substrate, and wherein an inorganic layer is arranged between a waveguiding film and the substrate.

31. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising least one tempering device.

32. The sensor of claim 31, wherein the tempering device is associated with a temperature control.

33. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises a waveguide structure comprising a layer of high refractive index.

34. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations are arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array-like manner or circular ring like manner.

35. A sensor comprising:

a waveguide grating structure on a substrate with a plurality of waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations;

wherein at least one of said waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one sensing pad with a chemofunctional or biochemofunctional substance covering at least partially said at least one waveguide grating structure unit or sensor location and comprising a cell or cells; and

wherein the waveguide grating structure has waveguiding properties and comprises at least one grating, wherein fluorescent or luminescent markers are present and fluorescence or luminescence excitation occurs when the incident light field at least partially illuminates the waveguide grating structure.

36. The sensor of claim 35, wherein the substrate is a plastic or glass substrate and wherein an inorganic layer is arranged between a waveguiding film and the substrate.

37. A sensor comprising:

a waveguide grating structure on a substrate with a plurality of waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations;

wherein at least one of said waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one sensing pad with a chemofunctional or biochemofunctional substance covering at least partially said at least one waveguide grating structure unit or sensor location and comprising a cell or cells or a molecular imprinted polymer; and

wherein the waveguide grating structure has waveguiding properties and comprises at least one grating, and the waveguide grating structure is capable of emitting at least one light field when an incident light field at least partially illuminates the waveguide grating structure.

38. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the cell is a living cell or the cells are living cells.

39. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the cell is a human cell or an animal cell or or a plant cell.

40. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the molecular imprinted polymer comprises plastic antibodies or plastic antigens.

41. The sensor chip of claim 37, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises a waveguide grating or at least two waveguide gratings with an optional waveguide structure region between the two waveguide gratings.

42. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises, at least partially, a modified surface or biocompatible surface or linker layer.

43. The sensor of claim 42, wherein the modified surface is a silane layer or polymer layer or lipid layer or lipid layer with ion channels or monolayer or bilayer .

44. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the waveguide grating structure is at least partially coated by a monomolecular layer or self-assembled monolayer.

45. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the waveguide grating structure or at least one of the waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one signal sensing pad covered at least partially by a chemofunctional or biochemofunctional substance and at least one reference sensing pad.

46. The sensor of claim 37, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises a waveguide structure comprising a layer of high refractive index.

47. A sensor comprising:

a waveguide grating structure on a substrate with a plurality of waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations;

wherein at least one of said waveguide grating structure units or sensor locations comprises at least one sensing pad with a chemofunctional or biochemofunctional substance covering at least partially said at least one waveguide grating structure unit or sensor location and comprising a molecular imprinted polymer; and

wherein the waveguide grating structure has waveguiding properties and comprises at least one grating, and the waveguide grating structure is capable of emitting at least one light field when an incident light field at least partially illuminates the waveguide grating structure.

48. The sensor of claim 47, wherein the molecular imprinted polymer comprises plastic antibodies or plastic antigens.

49. The sensor of claim 47, wherein the waveguide grating structure comprises at least partially a linker layer.