Wide spectral-range imaging spectroscopy of photonic crystal microbeads for multiplex biomolecular assay applications

Suspension assay using optically color-encoded microbeads is a novel way to increase the reaction speed and multiplex of biomolecular detection and analysis. To boost the detection speed, a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system is of great interest for quickly decoding the color codes of the microcarriers. Imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (IFTS) is a potential candidate for this task due to its advantages in HSI measurement. However, conventional IFTS is only popular in IR spectral bands because it is easier to track its scanning mirror position in longer wavelengths so that the fundamental Nyquist criterion can be satisfied when sampling the interferograms; the sampling mechanism for shorter wavelengths IFTS used to be very sophisticated, high-cost and bulky. In order to overcome this handicap and take better usage of its advantages for HSI applications, a new wide spectral range IFTS platform is proposed based on an optical beam-folding position-tracking technique. This simple technique has successfully extended the spectral range of an IFTS to cover 350-1000nm. Test results prove that the system has achieved good spectral and spatial resolving performances with instrumentation flexibilities. Accurate and fast measurement results on novel colloidal photonic crystal microbeads also demonstrate its practical potential for high-throughput and multiplex suspension molecular assays.