Sensor Materials

Dye-doped microparticles (enlarged picture)

  

The development, characterisation, application and establishment of sensor materials of different chemical nature for various analytical methods are the major foci of the division.

The division devotes its main attention to particulate systems and thin films. Most of the micro- and nanoparticles developed by us are functionalised in such a way that they can recognize and indicate the presence of an analyte. For observation and signal assessment, these sensor particles can be either immobilised on various supports or employed in flow systems (e.g., flow cytometer) or microanalytical cavities (e.g., microwell plates). Our particulate supports comprise silica, polymer and gold nanoparticles. Depending on the desired application, the particles can be monolithic or porous or can possess a core/shell-type structure. Thin-film sensors are mainly cast from organic polymers. Signal transduction is usually accomplished with the aid of chromo- and/or fluorogenic compounds such as organic dyes or rare-earth ions.

Particular interests of the working group reside with the development of preferably simple screening methods (e.g., test strips, dip sticks or robust sensors) and with the parallel detection of multiple analytes in high-throughput or multiplexed techniques. Optical detection methods are our primary choice here, because they basically offer best performance and possibilities with respect to miniaturisation, portability and throughput.

To be able to achieve highly sensitive optical detection with miniaturised analytical platforms, the integration of signal amplification strategies is important. Based on our profound experience in the design of functional dyes, molecular probes and switches, this field constitutes another active area of our research. With regard to the parallel or multiplexed detection of analytes, we are also developing and investigating concepts of selective encoding and addressing of particles.

Aims and major topics

Thin polymer films on glass supports as sensory layers, under UV illumination

• Development and application of particulate and thin-film-type probes and sensor systems
• Design of functional dyes for analytical applications
• Signal amplification strategies for optical detection techniques
• Multiplexed sensing platforms
• Development and investigation of microarray formats
• Sensor materials based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs)
• Dual labels for surface chemical analysis with different measurement techniques
• Identification and addressing strategies for particulate probes and labels
• Methodological developments in cytometry with nano- and microparticles
• Lateral flow assays

Cooperations

Sensory silica nanoparticles, in daylight (left) and under UV illumination (right)

• J. Kneipp (Institut für Chemie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin): Raman-active labels
• W. E. S. Unger (BAM 6.8): dual labels for surface chemical analysis
• R. Noske (BAM 4.2): nano-structured sensors for the detection of explosives
• B. Sellergren (Department of Biomedical Sciences, Malmö University): chromo- and fluorogenic molecularly imprinted polymers
• R. Martínez-Máñez (Instituto de Química Molecular Aplicada, Departamento de Química, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia): Chromo- and fluorogenic hybrid sensor materials
• Z. Shen (State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing University): Long-wavelength fluorescent dyes
• M. Weber (Computational Molecular Design, ZIB Konrad-Zuse-Institut Berlin): Modelling of binding events and polymerisation reactions

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