Hybrid optical biosensor based on polymer infiltrated porous silicon device

Organic-inorganic hybrid devices for biochemical monitoring are gaining increasing interest due to the physical and chemical properties of polymers. On the other hand, porous silicon (PSi) is really a versatile material due to its peculiar morphological, physical and chemical features. In this work, we have synthesized biocompatible multiblock copolymers based on Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(oxyethylene) (PEO), containing pendant functional groups regularly spaced along the chain, and used as coatings of porous silicon (PSi) optical structures. The resulting devices show an amino terminated surface which can be used to covalently link some biological probes, such as DNA, enzymes or proteins, in order to realize a new class of implantable biosensors. We have also verified the stability of such coated PSi structures against basic environments: the presence of the polymers protect the PSi sensing structures.