Optical Biosensing

Overview

Optical biosensors utilize light to detect the binding of a target molecule. These sensors can utilize a label molecule, which produces a measurable signal such as fluorescence, or these sensors can be label-free and use the changes in optical properties, such as refractive index, to sense for the binding of the target molecule. This video introduces both label and label-free optical biosensors, demonstrates their use in the laboratory, and shows some applications of the technology.

Procedure

Optical biosensors are sensors that detect a biological target or targets of interest using light. These devices have found applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, environmental monitoring, Homeland Security, and even the battlefield. Optical biosensors are broadly divided into label-based and label-free sensors. An example of label-based sensing is Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR, that uses fluorescent labels, or fluorophores, to quantify the amplified target DNA. An example of a label-free met

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