Plasmonic Mediated Atomically Engineered 2D Aluminium Quasicrystals for Dopamine Biosensing
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Dopamine levels are linked to neurological illnesses like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Thus, reliable and sensitive detection of dopamine is crucial for early diagnosis and surveillance of neurodegenerative diseases. Non-noble-metal-based nanomaterials are ideal for light-mediated sensing of organic molecules. Among these, 2D quasicrystal structures consisting of five elements, namely Al70Co10Fe5Ni10Cu5, provide active sites due to their high surface-to-volume ratio, making them excellent for organic chemical sensing. Here, we propose a simple, label-free, spatial self-phase-modulation (SSPM)-based sensing method in liquid form. SSPM-based time evolution of the diffraction pattern for varied mixing levels of a 1100 ppb dopamine solution shows a shift in the active 2D Al QC solution. The 1100 ppb solution shows a distinct value, indicating a change in the nonlinear refractive index. Time-evolution analysis is used to calculate sensitivities to changes in the nonlinear refractive index and time constant. The SPR-activated 2D Al QC nanostructure is used to demonstrate dopamine sensing and to perform qualitative and quantitative evaluations. The SSPM-based sensing has been further compared with other optical-based sensing methods such as Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. The experimental observations are also explained using DFT-based simulations. The current SSPM method can be used for rapid, large-scale medical diagnostics.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7140623946
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