@article{MuribYeapMartensetal.2014,
  author    = {Murib, Mohammed Sharif and Yeap, Weng-Siang and Martens, Daan and Bienstman, Peter and Ceuninck, Ward de and Grinsven, Bart van and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef and Michiels, Luc and Haenen, Ken and Ameloot, Marcel and Serpeng{\"u}zel, Ali and Wagner, Patrick},
  title     = {Photonic detection and characterization of DNA using sapphire microspheres},
  series = {Journal of biomedical optics},
  volume    = {19},
  journal   = {Journal of biomedical optics},
  number    = {9},
  publisher = {SPIE},
  address   = {Bellingham},
  issn      = {1560-2281 (E-Journal); 1083-3668 (Print)},
  doi       = {10.1117/1.JBO.19.9.097006},
  pages     = {097006},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {A microcavity-based deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) optical biosensor is demonstrated for the first time using synthetic sapphire for the optical cavity. Transmitted and elastic scattering intensity at 1510 nm are analyzed from a sapphire microsphere (radius 500  μm, refractive index 1.77) on an optical fiber half coupler. The 0.43 nm angular mode spacing of the resonances correlates well with the optical size of the sapphire sphere. Probe DNA consisting of a 36-mer fragment was covalently immobilized on a sapphire microsphere and hybridized with a 29-mer target DNA. Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) were monitored before the sapphire was functionalized with DNA and after it was functionalized with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The shift in WGMs from the surface modification with DNA was measured and correlated well with the estimated thickness of the add-on DNA layer. It is shown that ssDNA is more uniformly oriented on the sapphire surface than dsDNA. In addition, it is shown that functionalization of the sapphire spherical surface with DNA does not affect the quality factor (Q≈104) of the sapphire microspheres. The use of sapphire is especially interesting because this material is chemically resilient, biocompatible, and widely used for medical implants.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MuribTranCeunincketal.2012,
  author    = {Murib, Mohammed S. and Tran, Anh Quang and Ceuninck, Ward de and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef and Nesladek, Milos and Serpeng{\"u}zel, Ali and Wagner, Patrick},
  title     = {Analysis of an optical biosensor based on elastic light scattering from diamond-, glass-, and sapphire microspheres},
  series = {Physica Status Solidi A},
  volume    = {209},
  journal   = {Physica Status Solidi A},
  number    = {9},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {1862-6319},
  doi       = {10.1002/pssa.201100795},
  pages     = {1804 -- 1810},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein recognition are now standard tools in biology. In addition, the special optical properties of microsphere resonators expressed by the high quality factor (Q-factor) of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) or morphology dependent resonances (MDRs) have attracted the attention of the biophotonic community. Microsphere-based biosensors are considered as powerful candidates to achieve label-free recognition of single molecules due to the high sensitivity of their WGMs. When the microsphere surface is modified with biomolecules, the effective refractive index and the effective size of the microsphere change resulting in a resonant wavelength shift. The transverse electric (TE) and the transverse magnetic (TM) elastic light scattering intensity of electromagnetic waves at 600 and 1400 nm are numerically calculated for DNA and unspecific binding of proteins to the microsphere surface. The effect of changing the optical properties was studied for diamond (refractive index 2.34), glass (refractive index 1.50), and sapphire (refractive index 1.75) microspheres with a 50 µm radius. The mode spacing, the linewidth of WGMs, and the shift of resonant wavelength due to the change in radius and refractive index, were analyzed by numerical simulations. Preliminary results of unspecific binding of biomolecules are presented. The calculated shift in WGMs can be used for biomolecules detection.},
  language  = {en}
}