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AssigneeNovartis AG
InventorsBurkhard Danielzik, Gert Ludwig Duveneck, Martin Heming, Dieter Neuschafer, Johannes Segner
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The invention relates to a process for determing lumnescence with a planar dielectric optical sensor platform which consists of a transparent substrate to which a thin transparent waveguiding layer is applied, which sensor platform is provided with a coupling grating for the input-coupling of the excitation light and the refractive index of the substrate is lower than the refractive index of the waveguiding layer, by briging a liquid sample as superstrate into contact with the layer, and measuring the luminescence produced by substances having luminescence properties in the sample, or by substances having luminescence properties immobilized on the layer, optoelectronically. The invention also relates to the use of the process in quantitative affinity sensing and to the use thereof for the quantitative determination of luminescent constituents in optically turbid solutions, and to sensor platform for carrying out the process.
A process for determining luminescence with a planar dielectric optical sensor platform which consists of a transparent substrate (a) to which a thin transparent waveguiding layer (b) is applied, which sensor platform is provided with a coupling first grating having a depth modulation of from 3 to 60 nm for the input-coupling of the excitation light and the refractive index of said substrate (a) is lower than the refractive index of the waveguiding layer (b), by bringing a liquid sample as superstrate into contact with the layer (b), and measuring the luminescence produced by substances having luminescence properties in the sample, or by substances having luminescence properties immobilised on the layer (b), optoelectronically, by coupling the excitation light with the coupling grating into the planar waveguide so that it traverses the waveguiding layer, whereby the substances having luminescence properties are excited to luminescence in the evanescent field of the waveguiding layer, which process comprises using a waveguiding layer having a thickness smaller than the wavelength .lambda. of the excitation radiation and which consists of a material whose refractive index at the wavelength of the excitation radiation is .gtoreq.1.8, and coupling out from the waveguiding layer, and detecting, the luminescence radiation coupled back into the waveguiding layer (b) with a second coupling grating spatially separated from the first coupling grating.
An optical sensor platform (1) for determining luminescence radiation, comprising essentially a planar optically transparent substrate (5) to which is applied a thin waveguiding layer (4), said sensor platform (1) being provided with a first coupling grating having a depth modulation of from 3 to 60 nm (2) for the input-coupling of excitation radiation and the refractive index of the substrate is smaller than the refractive index of the waveguiding layer (4), wherein the thickness of said waveguiding layer (4) is smaller than the wavelength .lambda. of the excitation radiation, and said waveguiding layer (4) consists of a material whose refractive index at the wavelength of the excitation light is >1.8, and the sensor platform (1) comprises a second coupling grating (3) which is spatially separated from the first coupling grating (2) for coupling out the luminescence radiation coupled back into the waveguiding layer.
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