Label-free immunodetection of the cancer biomarker CA125 using high-Δn liquid crystals

A label-free and array-based optical liquid-crystal (LC) immunodetection technique for the detection of CA125 antigen, a protein biomarker most frequently used for ovarian cancer detection, was demonstrated with a nematic LC with larger birefringence (Delta n) to promote sensitivity in detecting biomolecules. The LC-based immunodetection offers an alternative and sensitive approach for the detection of biomarker proteins, with the potential of replacing conventional immunoassays used in biochemical studies and clinical laboratories. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.