Wireless-compatible optics-free microarray imager

We describe a low-cost, wireless compatible biosensor for optical microarray based applications. With the increasing use of microarray platforms in biosensors, as well as high-throughput screening in the areas of research and diagnostics, it has become necessary to develop a low cost imager compatible with existing µarray platforms, enabling microarray technology to be widely utilized outside of a laboratory setting. The incorporation of a wireless interface enables the possibility of a package-free biosensor for direct integration into biological environments. To accomplish this we developed an imaging platform using a standard digital CMOS process that allows direct integration of electronics, while levering the optical properties of silicon photodiodes and quantum dots to eliminate the need for optical filters and lenses, enabling a low-cost integrated solution. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the detection of a 20 nM concentration of Streptavidin without the use of optics.