Tapered optical fibers for aqueous and gaseous phase biosensing applications.

This study focuses on the design, fabrication and characterization of a tapered optical fiber platform for the label-free detection of aqueous and gaseous biomolecules. Single mode fibers were tapered to a diameter of approximately 10 microns, and this tapered surface was functionalized with biomolecules for aqueous (antibody) detection of analytes. Molecular binding to the surface changes the refractive index and thickness of the biolayer, which interacts with propagating light, causing a measureable phase shift in the output.