Square-shaped SPR-PCF for prostate cancer detection: A new dimension in bio-sensing

This study presents a novel Surface Plasmon Resonance based Photonic Crystal Fiber (SPR-PCF) designed to differentiate between prostate cancerous and non-cancerous epithelial cells by utilizing variations in refractive index (RI). Currently, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biomarkers are the primary method used in clinics for prostate cancer screening. However, due to the low specificity and high false-positive rates of PSA tests, a more accurate detection method is urgently needed. SPR-based PCF sensors, known for their high sensitivity, excel in detecting even slight refractive index changes in the surrounding media, offering a more effective and rapid solution for early cancer detection. Additionally, these sensors are highly sensitive, portable, and user-friendly, making them practical for clinical use. During the experiment, a number of the PCF’s parameters were changed, which resulted in an incredibly high amplitude sensitivity(AS) of 159.06 RIU −1 , 149.07 RIU −1 , 133.89 RIU −1 , 132.72 RIU −1 for BPH-1 or 22RV1, DU-145, PC-3 cells respectively. Corresponding Wavelength Sensitivity (WS) values for the same cell types were observed as 5000 nm/RIU, 2222.22 nm/RIU, 2380.95 nm/RIU and 2272.73 nm/RIU. The achieved resolutions for wavelength sensitivity are 2 . 00 × 1 0 − 5 RIU, 4 . 50 × 1 0 − 5 RIU, 4 . 20 × 1 0 − 5 RIU, 4 . 40 × 1 0 − 5 RIU, and resolutions for the amplitude sensitivity are 1 . 26 × 1 0 − 6 RIU, 6 . 04 × 1 0 − 6 RIU, 1 . 57 × 1 0 − 5 RIU, 1 . 66 × 1 0 − 5 RIU for the respective cells types mentioned above. The biosensor is simple to design and can be easily made with modern manufacturing techniques.