Abstract
In this work, a simple method for fabricating gold nanoparticle (AuNP) layer on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate based on electrostatic deposition of AuNP colloid onto a chemically-modified PDMS surface using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APTES) was developed. AuNPs of 100 nm diameter were successfully dispersed and deposited onto the chemically-modified PDMS surface. The morphology and optical property of the AuNP layer were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, respectively. It was found that the prepared AuNP layer on PDMS could work as a localized surface plasma resonance (LSPR) sensor. The sensing characteristics were examined by changing the refractive index of solution surrounding the AuNP and antigen-antibody events on the AuNP surface. Changes in absorbance intensity and peak wavelength shift of the LSPR band were both clearly observed. The developed technique can hopefully expand the applications of PDMS for not only micro channel fabrication, but also sensing construction for easier and simpler preparation of microfluidic biosensors, which were then applied for immunoassays and other biochemical analyses.