Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 40136969 DOI: 10.3390/bios15030172
Microfluidic Device on Fused Silica for Raman Spectroscopy of Liquid Samples.
Biosensors (Basel) 15(3)
Authors: Celia Gómez-Galdós, Andrea Perez-Asensio, María Gabriela Fernández-Manteca, Borja García García, José Francisco Algorri, José Miguel López-Higuera, Luis Rodríguez-Cobo, Adolfo Cobo
Affiliations
- Photonics Engineering Group, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Valdecilla (IDIVAL), 39011 Santander, Spain.
- Photonics Engineering Group, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Valdecilla (IDIVAL), 39011 Santander, Spain.
- CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract
Water testing is becoming increasingly important due to dangerous phenomena such as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Commonly, the content of a water sample is measured for the detection, monitoring and control of these events. Raman spectroscopy is a technique for the molecular characterization of materials in solid, liquid or gaseous form, which makes it an attractive method for analysing materials' components. However, Raman scattering is a weak optical process and requires an accurate system for detection. In our work, we present, from design to fabrication, a microfluidic device on fused silica adapted to optimise the Raman spectrum of liquid samples when using a Raman probe. The device features a portable design for rapid on-site continuous flow measurements avoiding the use of large, costly and complex laboratory equipment. The main manufacturing technique used was ultrafast laser-assisted etching (ULAE). Finally, the effectiveness of the microfluidic device was demonstrated by comparing the Raman spectra of a known species of cyanobacteria with those obtained using other conventional substrates in laboratory analysis. The results demonstrate that the microfluidic device, under continuous flow conditions, exhibited a lower standard deviation of the Raman signal, reduced background noise and avoided signal variations caused by sample drying in static measurements.
MeSH
Research Design, Laboratories, Microfluidics, Cyanobacteria