High-Q WGM microcavity-based optofluidic sensor technologies for biological analysis

Abstract

High-quality-factor (Q) optical microcavities have attracted extensive interest due to their unique ability to confine light for resonant circulation at the micrometer scale. Particular attention has been paid to optical whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcavities to harness their strong light–matter interactions for biological applications. Remarkably, the combination of high-Q optical WGM microcavities with microfluidic technologies can achieve a synergistic effect in the development of high-sensitivity optofluidic sensors for many emerging biological analysis applications, such as the detection of proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, and exosomes. They can also be utilized to investigate the behavior of living cells in human organisms, which may provide new technical solutions for studies in cell biology and biophysics. In this paper, we briefly review recent progress in high-Q microcavity-based optofluidic sensor technologies and their applications in biological analysis.