Janze Elham Jalili Tazekande, Alaei Sholeh, Meshginqalam Bahar
Department of Physics, Ur.C., Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.
Faculty of Physics, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 4;15(1):28349. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14131-8.
In this study, we have unveiled an SPR biosensor for highly sensitive and rapid detection of cancerous cells employing 2D materials. The proposed sensor structure introduces a novel approach to cancer cell detection, offering a new perspective in biosensing technology. In other words, specifically, ZnO, SiN and TMDCs based plasmonic sensor structures demonstrate great potential whenever high-accuracy detection of cancerous cells is required. We present four different configuration of SPR based sensor designed for the detection of different types of cancer cells. The designed conventional configuration consists of four functional layers namely Ag, ZnO, SiN and sensing medium along with BK7 prism for coupling light at the interface of metal-dielectric. To illustrate performance improvement, enhancement of light absorption capacity and achieve higher sensitivity of sensor, we incorporated four different 2D materials, MoS, MoSe, WS and WSe. Using the angular interrogation method, the proposed layered structure, BK7/ZnO/Ag/SiN/WS/sensing medium, demonstrated the highest overall sensitivity in terms of detecting three cancerous cells, blood cancer (Jurkat), cervical cancer (HeLa) and skin cancer (Basal) from healthy cells. Notably, the sensitivity which is achieved with the configuration BK7/ZnO/Ag/SiN/WS/sensing medium for blood cancer detection from healthy cells with the value of 342.14 deg/RIU and FOM equal to 124.86 RIU, outperforms all other proposed configurations. Applying finite element method (FEM) simulations, the distribution of electric field across the interfaces of the SPR sensor configurations are analyzed. Overall, SPR biosensors offer a promising technology for the early and accurate cancerous cell detection. The high sensitivity, specificity, and ability to analyze complex biological samples make them valuable tools in the struggle against cancer. However, further research and development are demanded to optimize the performance and translation of these sensors into clinical and real-world applications.
在本研究中，我们展示了一种用于利用二维材料高灵敏度快速检测癌细胞的表面等离子体共振（SPR）生物传感器。所提出的传感器结构引入了一种用于癌细胞检测的新方法，为生物传感技术提供了新的视角。具体而言，基于氧化锌（ZnO）、氮化硅（SiN）和过渡金属二卤化物（TMDCs）的等离子体传感器结构在需要高精度检测癌细胞时显示出巨大潜力。我们展示了四种不同配置的基于SPR的传感器，用于检测不同类型的癌细胞。设计的传统配置由四个功能层组成，即银（Ag）、氧化锌（ZnO）、氮化硅（SiN）和传感介质，以及用于在金属 - 电介质界面耦合光的BK7棱镜。为了说明性能提升、光吸收能力增强以及实现更高的传感器灵敏度，我们纳入了四种不同的二维材料，二硫化钼（MoS）、二硒化钼（MoSe）、二硫化钨（WS）和二硒化钨（WSe）。使用角度询问法，所提出的分层结构BK7/ZnO/Ag/SiN/WS/传感介质在从健康细胞中检测三种癌细胞（血癌（Jurkat）、宫颈癌（HeLa）和皮肤癌（基底细胞癌））方面表现出最高的整体灵敏度。值得注意的是，对于从健康细胞中检测血癌，配置为BK7/ZnO/Ag/SiN/WS/传感介质所实现的灵敏度值为342.14度/折射率单位（deg/RIU），品质因数（FOM）等于124.86 RIU，优于所有其他所提出的配置。应用有限元方法（FEM）模拟，分析了SPR传感器配置界面上的电场分布。总体而言，SPR生物传感器为早期准确检测癌细胞提供了一项有前景的技术。其高灵敏度、特异性以及分析复杂生物样品的能力使其成为对抗癌症斗争中的宝贵工具。然而，需要进一步的研究和开发来优化这些传感器的性能并将其转化为临床和实际应用。
