Photobleaching at the Surface of 1D-photonic Crystal Biochips

The increasing need for early cancer diagnosis has focused research efforts on new screening technologies such as those based on cancer biomarkers. Herein, we propose disposable optical biochips based on one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPC) sustaining Bloch surface waves (BSW) for detection of breast cancer biomarkers. Such biochips can quantify low concentrations (sub ng/mL) of the ERBB2 breast cancer biomarker in biological complex matrices. To demonstrate the presence of ERBB2 in cell lysate samples, we made use of a biosensing platform based on the 1DPC biochips working in both label-free and fluorescence detection modes. However, in the fluorescence detection mode, the measurements could be affected by photobleaching, which cannot be neglected, especially when an accurate quantification is needed.