Biosensing lasers using external cavities coupled with photonic and plasmonic crystals

Using the optically resonant surfaces of photonic crystals and plasmonic crystals, we demonstrate the design and application of a new class of label-free optical biosensors that utilize the stimulated emission process associated with an external cavity laser to achieve high resolution, while retaining the high wavelength shift sensitivity. The External Cavity Laser (ECL) biosensor approach has been applied to direct detection of small molecule interactions with immobilized proteins in the context of high throughput drug screening, using a novel self-referencing approach that accurately compensates for the effects of thermal drift and bulk refractive index variation.