Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and Love wave (LW) surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors have been established as reliable biosensing technologies for label-free, real-time monitoring of biomolecular interactions. This work reports the development of a combined SPR/LW-SAW platform to facilitate simultaneous optical and acoustic measurements for the investigation of biomolecules binding on a single surface. The system's output provides recordings of two acoustic parameters, phase and amplitude of a Love wave, synchronized with SPR readings. We present the design and manufacturing of a novel experimental set-up employing, in addition to the SPR/LW-SAW device, a 3D-printed plastic holder combined with a PDMS microfluidic cell so that the platform can be used in a flow-through mode. The system was evaluated in a systematic study of the optical and acoustic responses for different surface perturbations, i.e., rigid mass loading (Au deposition), pure viscous loading (glycerol and sucrose solutions) and protein adsorption (BSA). Our results provide the theoretical and experimental basis for future application of the combined system to other biochemical and biophysical studies.
Keywords: 3D printing; Love wave; PDMS microfluidics; biosensors; combined SPR/LW-SAW biosensing platform; protein adsorption; surface acoustic wave; surface plasmon resonance.