In a paper by V. Duplan et al., J. Biomed. Optics 14(5), 054042 (2009), we report on the successful immobilization of the influenza A virus on the biofunctionalized surface of GaAs (001). This result is an important milestone in our quest for the development of an all-optical biosensor for rapid detection and typing of viral pathogens. The device functions thanks to the strong photoluminescence emission generated by III-V quantum semiconductors (QS). One of the key elements in the development of such a biosensor is the ability to attach various analytes to GaAs—a material of choice for capping III-V QS of our interest. Biotinylated polyclonal influenza A antibodies have been applied to investigate the process of the immobilization of inactivated influenza A virus. The immobilization demonstrated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, was also verified with fluorescence microscopy. This achievement comes as a result of extensive interaction between researchers of the Université de Sherbrooke Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Laboratory for quantum semiconductors and
photon-based bionanotechnology