Plasmon resonance sensor, especially for use in biosensor technology

• US 6,831,748 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Issued: 12/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bioscience Ventures Group AG
• Original Assignee: Jandratek GmbH
• Inventors: Luethy, Carsten, Tittel, Jakob
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Zandra V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stock, Jr., Gordon J.
• Application Number:
  US10/416,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20040090630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 358 Days
• Field of Search: 356/128, 356/134-136, 356/317, 356/318, 356/445
• US Class Current: 356/445
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/553 and using surface plasmons fluorescence excitation G01N21/648; enhanced Raman G01N21/658

Abstract

A plasmon resonance sensor has an optically transparent body, a reflective layer on its one face and having a surface sensitive to molecules, a light source for emitting a divergent light through the body onto an inner face of the layer, and a detector assigned to an emerging beam path reflected by the layer and registering an angle of incidence of the light changing as a result of molecule buildups, wherein the light source is assigned a non-pointlike emission face with an extent of at least 10 μm, and a collimation lens is arranged in the emerging beam path between the optically transparent body and the detector.

Claims

1. A plasmon resonance sensor, comprising:

an optically transparent body (1);

a reflective metal layer (2) or semiconductor layer, wherein said reflective metal layer or semiconductor layer is applied to one face of the body (1) and has a surface sensitive to molecules to be detected, thereby forming a measurement cell in conjunction with a cuvette;

a light source for emitting a divergent light pencil or beam path (6) through the optically transparent body (1) onto an inner face of the layer (2); and

a detector (11, 17), wherein the detector is assigned to the emerging beam path reflected by the layer (2) and registers as a function of time an angle of incidence of the light, wherein the angle of incidence of light changes as a result of molecule buildups on the sensitive surface, wherein an intensity minimum of emerging light occurs owing to resonance, wherein the light source is assigned a non-pointlike emission face (5) with an extent of at least 10 μ

m, and wherein a collimation lens (10) is arranged in the emerging beam path between the optically transparent body (1) and the detector (11, 17).

2. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein the emission face (5) is arranged at one focal point (distance f′

) and the illuminated face of the detector (11, 17) is arranged at the other focal point (distance f) of the collimation lens (10).

3. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein the emission face (5) has an extent of between 300 and 700 μ

m.

4. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein a laser diode (16) is provided as the light source.

5. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein a spatially resolving detector is provided in the form of a CCD sensor.

6. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein the sensor is used for biosensor technology.

7. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein the optically transparent body (1) is a glass prism.

8. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 1, wherein the emission face (5) is formed by the end of an optical fiber (4) next to the optically transparent body (1).

9. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 8, wherein a light-emitting diode is provided for feeding the light into the optical fiber (4).

10. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined claim 1, wherein having two or more measurement cells are assigned to the optically transparent body (1), wherein a separate emission face (5) is provided for each measurement cell.

11. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 10, wherein each measurement cell is assigned a separate optical fiber (4a to 4h) with the emission face (5).

12. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 11, wherein a plurality of optical fibers (4a to 4h) are assigned to a common light source.

13. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 10, wherein a cylindrical lens (21), is additionally provided in front of the detector (11) in the emerging beam path, wherein the cylindrical lens focuses the beam path perpendicularly onto the detector (11) with respect to an incidence plane.

14. The plasmon resonance sensor as defined in claim 13, wherein the cylindrical lens (21) is arranged between the collimation lens (10) and the detector (11).