Optical Molecular Detection

An imaging system comprising:

• a light probe including
• a light source configured to direct a probe beam of light along an optical light path,
• one or more optical lenses disposed along the light path,
• an optical grating disposed along the light path, the optical grating configured to switch between a zero optical mode and a first optical mode, and
• an optical slit configured to switch between a position on the light path and a position off the light path;
• a substrate including a target layer having a reagent immobilizing area configured to receive one or more reagents;
• a sample stage configured to hold and move the substrate along a predetermined plane perpendicular to the light path;
• and
• an image sensor disposed along the light path, the image sensor configured to capture the probe beam of light reflected off the substrate.

A method of detecting molecular interactions, the method comprising:

• providing a biochip including
• a substrate,
• a target layer deposited on the substrate, the target layer having a reagent immobilizing area configured to receive one or more reagents, and
• a calibration structure with a predetermined height deposited on the substrate;
• depositing reagent molecules on the reagent immobilizing area to promote absorption of the reagent molecules on a surface of the reagent immobilizing area;
• depositing target molecules on the reagent immobilizing area to promote molecular interactions between the immobilized reagent molecules and the target molecules;
• and
• capturing images of the biochip to detect a level of molecular interaction between the immobilized reagent molecules and the target molecules.

A method for optical molecular detection, comprising:

• providing at least one reagent immobilizing area over a substrate which is designed to receive at least one reagent which combines with a target molecule;
• providing at least one calibration structure at a location displaced from the regent immobilizing area to have a predetermined height different from a surface of the reagent immobilizing area to provide a height reference for optical measurement;
• illuminating a probe beam to the reagent immobilizing area and the calibration structure to obtain a first optical signal from the reagent immobilizing area which includes height information of the reagent immobilizing area and a second optical signal from the calibration structure which include height information of the calibration structure;
• and
• comparing the first and the second optical signals to determine a height at the reagent immobilizing area based on the predetermined height of the calibration structure.

An apparatus comprising a biochip which comprises:

• a substrate including a target layer having at least one reagent immobilizing area configured to receive one or more reagents;
• a cartridge having a support structure for receiving the substrate;
• and
• a memory device disposed on the cartridge, the memory device configured to store data related to the substrate.