Detecting molecular recognition with adaptive interferometry: The adaptive-optical BioCD

We have developed a high-speed interferometric optical assay called the BioCD. It is a spinning disk on which antibody molecules are printed that test for specific proteins in biological samples. The class of the BioCD that I will describe here uses adaptive beam combining in a photorefractive quantum well device to establish interferometric phase quadrature between the signal and reference beams. The interferometer is linearly sensitive to small numbers of captured biological molecules and adaptively compensates for mechanical vibrations and wobble in the optical disk.