Millimeter-wave-based spoof localized surface plasmonic resonator for sensing glucose concentration

Abstract

Glucose-monitoring sensors are necessary and have been extensively studied to prevent and control health problems caused by diabetes. Spoof localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance sensors have been investigated for chemical sensing and biosensing. A spoof LSP has similar characteristics to an LSP in the microwave or terahertz frequency range but with certain advantages, such as a high-quality factor and improved sensitivity. In general, microwave spoof LSP resonator-based glucose sensors have been studied. In this study, a millimeter-wave-based spoof surface plasmonic resonator sensor is designed to measure glucose concentrations. The millimeter-wave-based sensor has a smaller chip size and higher sensitivity than microwave-frequency sensors. Therefore, the microfluidic channel was designed to be reusable and able to operate with a small sample volume. For alignment, a polydimethylsiloxane channel was simultaneously fabricated using a multilayer bonding film to attach the upper side of the pattern, which is concentrated in the electromagnetic field. This real-time sensor detects the glucose concentration via changes in the S11 parameter and operates at 28 GHz with an average sensitivity of 0.015669 dB/(mg/dL) within the 0–300 mg/dL range. The minimum detectable concentration and the distinguishable signal are 1 mg/dL and 0.015669 dB, respectively, from a 3.4 µL sample. The reusability and reproducibility were assessed through replicates. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.