Near-field electrospinning of polymer/phage whispering gallery mode microfiber resonators for label-free biosensing

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol. 367; p. 132062
• Main Authors: Hsieh, Stephen T., Cheeney, Joseph E., Ding, Xi, Myung, Nosang V., Haberer, Elaine D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 15-09-2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Aqueous solutions; Binding; Biosensors; Cavity resonators; Label-free WGM biosensor; Microfibers; Microscopes; Nanoparticles; Near fields; Near-field electrospinning; Phage bioreceptors; Phages; Photoelectrons; Polymer/virus composite microfiber; Polymers; Polyvinyl alcohol; Rhodamine; Whispering gallery mode fiber resonator; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Phage bioreceptors; Label-free WGM biosensor; Polymer/virus composite microfiber; Whispering gallery mode fiber resonator; Near-field electrospinning
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2022.132062

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators have attracted attention as optical biosensors due to their capacity for rapid label-free detection. Separately, the M13 bacteriophage has been investigated as an alternative biorecognition element. In this work, a novel polymer WGM biosensor functionalized with filamentous virus biocapture agents was fabricated using near-field electrospinning (NFES) in a single step. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was mixed with streptavidin-binding M13 bacteriophage and rhodamine 6 G in aqueous solution for blend electrospinning of active cavity microfiber-based resonators. Confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed alignment of M13 bioreceptors along the fiber axis, while x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and streptavidin-conjugated nanoparticle binding studies indicated that bioactive M13 bacteriophage were on the fiber surface. Dye-doped, crosslinked PVA/M13 fibers supported moderate quality (Q) factor first order WGM resonances within their cross-sections that exhibited a spectral shift in response to streptavidin binding. Composite PVA/M13 microfibers demonstrated specific label-free biosensing of streptavidin with a theoretical limit of detection of 3 nM and a maximum surface coverage of 21 ± 5%. These results demonstrate the potential of NFES to fabricate WGM resonators from PVA/M13 microfibers and use them as a platform for rapid, sensitive label-free sensing.
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•Near-field electrospun microfibers support whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances.•M13 filamentous bacteriophage act as robust affinity-based biocapture agents.•Virus bioreceptors are encapsulated in polymer fibers using blend electrospinning.•Label-free optical biosensors are fabricated for sensitive streptavidin detection.