High-sensitivity refractive index based terahertz metasurface biosensor for detecting multiple cancers and infectious diseases

Despite notable progress, many existing terahertz biosensors rely on expensive materials like noble metals or 2D nanomaterials and are typically restricted to detecting specific biomarkers or single diseases, which limits their specificity, adaptability and real-world clinical utility. This work addresses these limitations by proposing a cost-effective, scalable refractive index based metasurface biosensor design that is composed of Aluminum and Polyimide. Through a dual-resonance mechanism, the sensor captures minute dielectric variations linked to multiple diseases including cancers such as breast, blood and cervical, as well as blood related infections like malaria. Under optimized simulation conditions, the sensor shows a high-Quality Factor exceeding 200, a Figure of Merit of 63.68 RIU⁻¹ and a sensitivity of 3.107 THz/RIU. Beyond its strong performance metrics, the sensor provides a cost-effective and non-invasive detection platform that seamlessly integrates simplicity, adaptability to multiple diseases and high diagnostic precision, advancing the field of early, rapid and accessible diagnostics across a wide range of biomedical applications, especially in resource limited settings.