Department of Physics , University of Seoul , Seoul 02504 , Republic of Korea.
Division of Nano & Information Technology, KIST School , Korea University of Science and Technology (UST) , Seoul 02792 , Republic of Korea.
Anal Chem. 2019 May 21;91(10):6844-6849. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b01066. Epub 2019 May 9.
Discrimination and quantification of trace amounts of steroid hormones in biological specimens are needed to elucidate their changing expression because their biological functions are responsible for the development and prevention of endocrine disorders. Although mass-spectrometry-based assays are most commonly recommended, development of a new type of highly sensitive and selective detection methods in clinical practices is needed. Here, we introduce a label-free type of terahertz molecule sensor capable of sensing and identifying progesterone and 17α-OH-progesterone selectively. Nanoslot-array-based sensing chips were used as launching pads for absorption cross-section enhancement of molecules at a reliable terahertz frequency. With use of nanoslots with resonances at 1.17 THz corresponding to intrinsic THz absorption resonance mode for progesterone and at 1.51 THz for 17α-OH-progesterone, respectively, each steroid shows prominent transmittance change in terms of its amount. In particular, the sensing performance has been much improved by controlling evaporation speed, in turn resulting in an efficient, homogeneous distribution of the molecules onto a sensing hot spot.
为了阐明甾体激素的表达变化，需要对生物样本中的痕量甾体激素进行鉴别和定量，因为它们的生物学功能负责内分泌紊乱的发生和预防。尽管基于质谱的检测方法是最常用的，但在临床实践中需要开发新型的高灵敏度和选择性检测方法。在这里，我们介绍了一种无标记的太赫兹分子传感器，能够选择性地感应和识别孕酮和 17α-OH-孕酮。纳米槽阵列传感芯片被用作可靠的太赫兹频率下分子吸收截面增强的发射台。利用与孕酮的固有太赫兹吸收共振模式对应的共振频率为 1.17 THz 的纳米槽和与 17α-OH-孕酮对应的共振频率为 1.51 THz 的纳米槽，每种甾体激素的数量都表现出明显的透射率变化。特别是，通过控制蒸发速度，可以显著提高传感性能，从而使分子有效地、均匀地分布在传感热点上。
