Optofluidic particle concentration by a long-range dual-beam trap

Constrained Volume Micro- and Nanoparticle Collection Methods in Microfluidic Systems

Particle trapping and enrichment into confined volumes can be useful in particle processing and analysis. This review is an evaluation of the methods used to trap and enrich particles into constrained volumes in microfluidic and nanofluidic systems. These methods include physical, optical, electrical, magnetic, acoustic, and some hybrid techniques, all capable of locally enhancing nano- and microparticle concentrations on a microscale. Some key qualitative and quantitative comparison points are also explored, illustrating the specific applicability and challenges of each method. A few applications of these types of particle trapping are also discussed, including enhancing biological and chemical sensors, particle washing techniques, and fluid medium exchange systems.

A Critical Review on the Sensing, Control, and Manipulation of Single Molecules on Optofluidic Devices

Single-molecule techniques have shifted the paradigm of biological measurements from ensemble measurements to probing individual molecules and propelled a rapid revolution in related fields. Compared to ensemble measurements of biomolecules, single-molecule techniques provide a breadth of information with a high spatial and temporal resolution at the molecular level. Usually, optical and electrical methods are two commonly employed methods for probing single molecules, and some platforms even offer the integration of these two methods such as optofluidics. The recent spark in technological advancement and the tremendous leap in fabrication techniques, microfluidics, and integrated optofluidics are paving the way toward low cost, chip-scale, portable, and point-of-care diagnostic and single-molecule analysis tools. This review provides the fundamentals and overview of commonly employed single-molecule methods including optical methods, electrical methods, force-based methods, combinatorial integrated methods, etc. In most single-molecule experiments, the ability to manipulate and exercise precise control over individual molecules plays a vital role, which sometimes defines the capabilities and limits of the operation. This review discusses different manipulation techniques including sorting and trapping individual particles. An insight into the control of single molecules is provided that mainly discusses the recent development of electrical control over single molecules. Overall, this review is designed to provide the fundamentals and recent advancements in different single-molecule techniques and their applications, with a special focus on the detection, manipulation, and control of single molecules on chip-scale devices.

Recent advances in integrated solid-state nanopore sensors

The advent of single-molecule probing techniques has revolutionized the biomedical and life science fields and has spurred the development of a new class of labs-on-chip based on powerful biosensors. Nanopores represent one of the most recent and most promising single molecule sensing paradigms that is seeing increased chip-scale integration for improved convenience and performance. Due to their physical structure, nanopores are highly sensitive, require low sample volume, and offer label-free, amplification-free, high-throughput real-time detection and identification of biomolecules. Over the last 25 years, nanopores have been extensively employed to detect a variety of biomolecules with a growing range of applicatons ranging from nucleic acid sequencing to ultrasensitive diagnostics to single-molecule biophysics. Nanopores, in particular those in solid-state membranes, also have the potential for integration with other technologies such as optics, plasmonics, microfluidics, and optofluidics to perform more complex tasks for an ever-expanding demand. A number of breakthrough results using integrated nanopore platforms have already been reported, and more can be expected as nanopores remain the focus of innovative research and are finding their way into commercial instruments. This review provides an overview of different aspects and challenges of nanopore technology with a focus on chip-scale integration of solid-state nanopores for biosensing and bioanalytical applications.

Optimisation and scaling effect of dual-waveguide optical trapping in the SOI platform

Optical trapping has potential applications in biological manipulation, particle trapping, Raman spectroscopy, and quantum optomechanics. Among the various optical trapping schemes, on-chip dual-waveguide traps combine benefits of stable trapping and mass production. However, no systematic research has been conducted to optimise on-chip dual-waveguide traps so that the trapping capability is maximised. Here, a numerical simulation of an on-chip silicon on insulator (SOI) dual-waveguide optical trap based on Lumerical FDTD Solutions is carried out to optimise the on-chip dual-waveguide trap. It was found that the waveguide thickness is a crucial parameter when designing a dual-waveguide trap, and its optical trapping capability largely depends on the distance between the two waveguides. We show that the optimal waveguide thickness to achieve the maximum trapping capability generally increases with the gap distance, accompanied by a periodic feature due to the interference and the resonant effects within the gap. This optimal waveguide thickness and gap distance are analysed to have clear scaling effects over the input optical wavelength, which paves the way for the design and optimisation of dual-waveguide traps for various applications.

Optical trapping assisted detection rate enhancement of single molecules on a nanopore optofluidic chip

We use optical trapping to deliver molecular targets to the vicinity of a nanopore for high-throughput single molecule analysis on an optofluidic chip. DNA detection rates increase over 80× to enable detection at attomolar concentrations.

Optofluidic bioanalysis: fundamentals and applications

Over the past decade, optofluidics has established itself as a new and dynamic research field for exciting developments at the interface of photonics, microfluidics, and the life sciences. The strong desire for developing miniaturized bioanalytic devices and instruments, in particular, has led to novel and powerful approaches to integrating optical elements and biological fluids on the same chip-scale system. Here, we review the state-of-the-art in optofluidic research with emphasis on applications in bioanalysis and a focus on waveguide-based approaches that represent the most advanced level of integration between optics and fluidics. We discuss recent work in photonically reconfigurable devices and various application areas. We show how optofluidic approaches have been pushing the performance limits in bioanalysis, e.g. in terms of sensitivity and portability, satisfying many of the key requirements for point-of-care devices. This illustrates how the requirements for bianalysis instruments are increasingly being met by the symbiotic integration of novel photonic capabilities in a miniaturized system.

Liquid Core ARROW Waveguides: A Promising Photonic Structure for Integrated Optofluidic Microsensors

In this paper, we introduce a liquid core antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) as a novel optofluidic device that can be used to create innovative and highly functional microsensors. Liquid core ARROWs, with their dual ability to guide the light and the fluids in the same microchannel, have shown great potential as an optofluidic tool for quantitative spectroscopic analysis. ARROWs feature a planar architecture and, hence, are particularly attractive for chip scale integrated system. Step by step, several improvements have been made in recent years towards the implementation of these waveguides in a complete on-chip system for highly-sensitive detection down to the single molecule level. We review applications of liquid ARROWs for fluids sensing and discuss recent results and trends in the developments and applications of liquid ARROW in biomedical and biochemical research. The results outlined show that the strong light matter interaction occurring in the optofluidic channel of an ARROW and the versatility offered by the fabrication methods makes these waveguides a very promising building block for optofluidic sensor development.

Integrated optofluidic-microfluidic twin channels: toward diverse application of lab-on-a-chip systems

Optofluidics, which integrates microfluidics and micro-optical components, is crucial for optical sensing, fluorescence analysis, and cell detection. However, the realization of an integrated system from optofluidic manipulation and a microfluidic channel is often hampered by the lack of a universal substrate for achieving monolithic integration. In this study, we report on an integrated optofluidic-microfluidic twin channels chip fabricated by one-time exposure photolithography, in which the twin microchannels on both surfaces of the substrate were exactly aligned in the vertical direction. The twin microchannels can be controlled independently, meaning that fluids could flow through both microchannels simultaneously without interfering with each other. As representative examples, a tunable hydrogel microlens was integrated into the optofluidic channel by femtosecond laser direct writing, which responds to the salt solution concentration and could be used to detect the microstructure at different depths. The integration of such optofluidic and microfluidic channels provides an opportunity to apply optofluidic detection practically and may lead to great promise for the integration and miniaturization of Lab-on-a-Chip systems.

Optofluidic devices with integrated solid-state nanopores

This review (with 90 refs.) covers the state of the art in optofluidic devices with integrated solid-state nanopores for use in detection and sensing. Following an introduction into principles of optofluidics and solid-state nanopore technology, we discuss features of solid-state nanopore based assays using optofluidics. This includes the incorporation of solid-state nanopores into optofluidic platforms based on liquid-core anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs), methods for their fabrication, aspects of single particle detection and particle manipulation. We then describe the new functionalities provided by solid-state nanopores integrated into optofluidic chips, in particular acting as smart gates for correlated electro-optical detection and discrimination of nanoparticles. This enables the identification of viruses and λ-DNA, particle trajectory simulations, enhancing sensitivity by tuning the shape of nanopores. The review concludes with a summary and an outlook.

Optical particle sorting on an optofluidic chip

We report size-based sorting of micro- and sub-micron particles using optical forces on a planar optofluidic chip. Two different combinations of fluid flow and optical beam directions in liquid-core waveguides are demonstrated. These methods allow for tunability of size selection and sorting with efficiencies as high as 100%. Very good agreement between experimental results and calculated particle trajectories in the presence of flow and optical forces is found.