Philip Wägli

Cocaine detection by a mid-infrared waveguide integrated with a microfluidic chip

A germanium (Ge) strip waveguide on a silicon (Si) substrate is integrated with a microfluidic chip to detect cocaine in tetrachloroethylene (PCE) solutions. In the evanescent field of the waveguide, cocaine absorbs the light near 5.8 μm, which is emitted from a quantum cascade laser. This device is ideal for (bio-)chemical sensing applications.

Microfluidic Droplet-Based Liquid–Liquid Extraction and On-Chip IR Spectroscopy Detection of Cocaine in Human Saliva

We present a portable microsystem to quantitatively detect cocaine in human saliva. In this system, we combine a microfluidic-based multiphase liquid-liquid extraction method to transfer cocaine continuously from IR-light-absorbing saliva to an IR-transparent solvent (tetrachloroethylene) with waveguide IR spectroscopy (QC-laser, waveguide, detector) to detect the cocaine on-chip. For the fabrication of the low-cost polymer microfluidic chips a simple rapid prototyping technique based on Scotch-tape masters was further developed and applied. To perform the droplet-based liquid-liquid extraction, we designed and integrated a simple and robust droplet generation method based on the capillary focusing effect within the device. Compared to well-characterized and commonly used microfluidic H-filters, our system showed at least two times higher extraction efficiencies with potential for further improvements. The current liquid-liquid extraction method alone can efficiently extract cocaine and pre-concentrate the analytes in a new solvent. Our fully integrated optofluidic system successfully detected cocaine in real saliva samples spiked with the drug (500 μg/mL) and allowed real time measurements, which makes this approach suitable for point-of-care applications.

Multi-wavelength QCL based MIR spectroscopy for fluids and gases

We demonstrate multi-color DFB QCLs with separated electrical pumping for independent single-mode emission of several wavelengths from the same ridge. This will be implemented in our mid-infrared spectroscopy sensors for gases (CO2) and liquids (cocaine).

Mid-infrared waveguide evanescent field chemical sensor for liquids

Based on a mid-infrared waveguide fabricated from Germanium on Silicon substrates, we present a concept of chemical sensors in aqueous solutions. The sensing scheme is utilizing the evanescent wave in a single-mode waveguide, and the absorption spectrum of chemicals dissolved in liquids. The waveguide is coupled to a single-mode mid-infrared quantum cascade laser [1], and an infrared detector. The wavelength of 5.81 microns is chosen to assure the specifity and sensitivity of the pilot application [2] for the analysis of cocaine analyte, in a water based matrix (saliva). A micro-fluidic system will be used for sample preparations.