DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOSENSOR NANOFLUIDIC PLATFORM FOR INTEGRATION WITH TERAHERTZ SPECTROSCOPIC SYSTEM

The goal of this SBIR project is to develop and demonstrate an electrokinetically driven nanofluidic sensor device of the physical size and shape that will allow integration with a THz spectroscopic instrument. The substrate and channel surfaces within the device will be appropriate for the acquisition of THz-frequency spectroscopic features from bio-molecules (e.g., DNA, RNA, proteins) in solutions and for their effective label-free detection and identification. Flow within the device will be controlled, and interactions required for capture or processing of relevant biomolecules for fingerprinting will be incorporated into the same device. The Phase I effort of this project is the development of a conceptual design of a proposed nanofluidic sensor package to demonstrate the feasibility of a biosensor system for biological targets detection. The specification of the requirements for a spectroscopic instrument for the acquisition of THz-frequency spectroscopic features from biomolecules will be created. Preliminary experimental characterization of fluidic channels electrokinetic characteristics and optical efficiency will be conducted. In the Phase II a completely functioning nanofluidic sensor platform will be implemented and combined with THz spectroscopic system. The proposed project will be conducted by Vibratess LLc in close collaboration with Pettit Applied Technologies, and with Lichtenberger Consultanting.