Multiplexed inkjet functionalization of silicon photonic biosensors

Abstract

The transformative potential of silicon photonics for chip-scale biosensing is limited primarily by the inability to selectively functionalize and exploit the extraordinary density of integrated optical devices on this platform. Silicon biosensors, such as the microring resonator, can be routinely fabricated to occupy a footprint of less than 50 × 50 µm; however, chemically addressing individual devices has proven to be a significant challenge due to their small size and alignment requirements. Herein, we describe a non-contact piezoelectric (inkjet) method for the rapid and efficient printing of bioactive proteins, glycoproteins and neoglycoconjugates onto a high-density silicon microring resonator biosensor array. This approach demonstrates the scalable fabrication of multiplexed silicon photonic biosensors for lab-on-a-chip applications, and is further applicable to the functionalization of any semiconductor-based biosensor chip.