NSF Funds Reinhard Group to Develop Optical Multiparametric BioSensors
The NSF Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBETS) has funded Bjoern Reinhard and his Co-Investigator, Professor Luca Dal Negro (Electrical & Computer Engineering,) to combine the advantageous photonic and plasmonic properties of nanostructured surfaces to develop a multiparametric responder that improves sensitivity and selectivity of conventional biosensing platforms through combined analysis of elastic and inelastic light-scattering processes. The award, “Multiparametric Optical Sensing of Microbes on Plasmonic Nanostructures,” is for $300K over three years.
The interdisciplinary investigators aim to develop a plasmonic biosensor that can detect and identify individual molecules or microbes rapidly in complex, “real-world” samples. The developed sensing technology has relevance for critical sensing areas such as environmental monitoring, food quality control, and homeland security. In addition the investigators will offer high school, undergraduate, and graduate students the opportunity to engage in hands on interdisciplinary nanotechnology research related to this project in their respective laboratories.
