Optical simulations and optimization of highly sensitive biosensor for cancer cell detection

In this work, using the two-dimensional finite difference time domain method, we are theoretically studying the optical properties of a two-dimensional photonic crystal biosensor based on silicon rods arranged as a square structure in an air bottom with two waveguides and a nanocavity. For this purpose, six different cells are infiltrated into the point defect. These six cells are Jurkat, HeLa, PC-12, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and basal cells. As a result, we have successfully detected cancer and benign cases of these cells through resonance peaks in the transmission spectrum. We evaluated the sensitivity, quality factor, detection limit, and figure of merit at different values for sensing region radius for optimization purposes. We report that we observed the maximum sensitivity of 1350 nm/RIU at 0.15 μm for the basal cell. Finally, the proposed biosensor can be a miniaturized structure with extreme sensitivity in cancer cell detection models.