Sensitivity improved plasmonic gold nanoholes array biosensor by coupling quantum-dots for the detection of specific biomolecular interactions

In this paper, we focused on the large-scale fabrication of gold nanoholes array capable of supporting surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) via the developed nanosphere lithography (NSL) technique, which could be used as high performance biosensor for the detection of specific streptavidin–biotin interactions. Direct UV–vis absorption mode measurement was used to monitor the SPR peak shift. For the better immobilization of biotin, the surface of gold nanoholes array was functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (MPTS) and 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES). After the streptavidin binding to the biotin, the SPR peak position showed an 11nm wavelength shift due to the refractive index change caused by the biotin–streptavidin binding. The sealing treatment was performed by using bovine serum albumin (BSA) to eliminate the influences of nonspecific adsorption for more accurate detection. Interestingly, the detection sensitivity of the gold nanoholes array could be further enhanced by coupling the water-soluble CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), which showed four-fold improvement in detection sensitivity as compared to the gold nanoholes array biosensor without the coupling of QDs. The mechanisms for the enhancement of detection sensitivity were also discussed. This would provide new capabilities for the highly sensitive measurements of biomolecular binding. •The design and large-scale fabrication of gold nanoholes array were presented.•High transmittance and conductivity make it attractive for the multiplex detection.•Biotin–streptavidin reaction was detected based on SPR of the gold nanoholes array.•The detection sensitivity was further improved about 4 times by coupling of QDs.