Optical Multiplexing for High-Throughput Spectroscopic Analysis.
Abstract
Implantable optical biosensors are being developed as aids for medical monitoring. Such optical biosensors are analyzed for performance in dynamic sensor testing environment. Multi-Frequency Phase Fluorometer (MFPF) is a key measuring device of dynamic sensor testing. In current laboratory setup, this device can accommodate single sensor testing at a time. In this research work, an optical multiplexer (MUX) was designed and built to enable simultaneous testing of multiple optical biosensors using a single MFPF. Several MUX designs were objectively evaluated and the most effective design in terms of cost, efficiency, optical attenuation losses and scalability was selected for development. The MUX prototype enabled concurrent testing of three biosensor samples, however, the number of samples can be further scaled up. It was found that the MUX can provide adjustable temporal resolution and precise alignment repeatability with minimal data loss during an experiment. The MUX expanded the capabilities of the existing setup by allowing testing of multiple sensors with a single MFPF resulting in significant cost reduction. The cost analysis showed that this solution can reduce equipment cost by twelve times for the same throughout. In addition, the MUX allowed direct comparison of sensors without the need of correcting for variations in testing with multiple MFPFs. The proposed design approach is a significant contribution in optical biosensor testing as it provides greater throughput and scalability while being an economical and compact solution.
Subject
optical multiplexingCitation
Ahmed, Saadiah (2012). Optical Multiplexing for High-Throughput Spectroscopic Analysis.. Honors and Undergraduate Research. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /148844.