Terahertz polarization sensing for protein concentration and a crystallization process on a reflective metasurface

Terahertz (THz) waves have attracted much attention in the field of biosensing due to advantages including non-destructiveness, being label-free, and high-sensitivity detection. Here we have experimentally demonstrated a THz polarization sensing method based on reflective metasurface sensors for detecting concentrations of protein solutions and their crystallization process. The protein with varying concentrations has been detected by five different polarization parameters, which show different spectral responses and sensing sensitivities. The sensing accuracy can reach the order of ng/mm(2). Furthermore, the crystallization process of the protein sample from the dissolved state to the crystalline has been dynamically measured by polarization sensing, of which the highest sensitivity can reach 0.67 degrees/%. Therefore, this new sensing platform can have broad development prospects in the trace matter detection of the biological sample. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group