Photonic crystal fiber-based immunosensor for high-performance detection of alpha fetoprotein

We have developed a sensitive photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based immunosensor for detection of alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The unique PCF possesses a morphology characterized by numerous pore structures and a large surface area-to-volume ratio, which can be used as an immune-reaction carrier to improve the sensitivity and reaction speed of AFP detection. The PCF-based immunosensor possesses a low limit of detection of 0.1 ng/mL, which is five times lower than that of the capillary-based sensor and 35 times lower than that of the traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The wide linear dynamic range of 0.1-150 ng/mL makes the developed immunosensor suitable for clinical practice. The proposed method was successfully applied to AFP detection in a clinical serum sample with acceptable precision. It is indicated that the present PCF-based immunosensor could be used as an attractive analytical platform for sensitive and specific detection of cancer biomarkers.