Advanced Biosensing Technologies for Portable Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Seeking partners to integrate photonic sensing technologies, multiplex biomarker sensing and surface functionalization into next-generation PoC diagnostic platforms. for the call topic HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-IND-02: Portable and versatile Point-of-care diagnostics.

Waveguide-based fluorescence immunosensing

• Silicon-photonic biosensing platform enabling highly sensitive, wash-free fluorescence detection using integrated silicon nitride waveguides.

• Applications: Multiplex protein biomarker analysis (demonstrated for IL-6 and TNF-α), with up to 10 biomarkers measured in parallel and 20 measurements per chip. Any affinity-detectable biomarkers can be measured, provided that suitable capture/detection reagents are available.

• Key advantages: Fast (<15 min), high-sensitivity (sub-picomolar detection), wash-free, real-time binding kinetics, multiplexed readout, and CMOS-compatible manufacturing.

• Maturity: To date the form factor is at point-of-need with a miniaturized optomechanical readoud device (30 x 30 x 30 cm) with a TRL of 5. More portable systems, towards point-of-care are possible, but currently at lower TRL 2-3

Wafer-scale surface functionalization and biomolecule spotting

• Imec has wafer-compatible surface-functionalization processes and site-selective non-contact printing of biological recognition molecules.

• Can immobilize: antibodies, nanobodies, DNA and other biological receptors;

• For the waveguide platform, imec has developed covalent surface chemistry and local spotting of capture antibodies onto individual sensing zones.

UV/visible photonics for additional optical sensing concepts

• The team has design capabilities extending into visible and UV photonics and UV biosensing, in addition to the visible fluorescence-waveguide work described above.

• This can be an exploratory topic where absorption/fluorescence-based detection schemes using UV excitation is advantageous