Terahertz biosensing of protein based on a metamaterial

Proteins perform a vast array of functions within living organisms and the realization of its function is derived from the interaction with other molecules. Research about protein-protein interaction empower the current knowledge on biochemical cascades, metabolic process and disease pathogenesis. So far, there are multitudes of methods invented to investigate whether different kinds of proteins interact with each other. To achieve sufficient sensitivity and specificity, those approaches usually extend over a couple of days and a series of steps. Here we demonstrate that metamaterials operating in the terahertz frequency range show promising potential for fabricating the highly sensitive and selective bio-macromolecule sensors. Experimental results reveal that the rat IgG and corresponding anti-rat IgG mixed solution bring in a larger resonance shift in THz transmission spectra than the non-interacting protein mixture solution, rat IgG and BSA. The method and the achieved results demonstrate the capacity and usefulness of terahertz spectroscopy in bio sensing of interacting proteins.