Microfluidic device on fused silica for raman spectroscopy of liquid samples

Water testing is becoming increasingly important due to dangerous phenomena such as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Commonly, the content of a water sample is measured for the detection, monitoring and control of these events. Raman spectroscopy is a technique for the molecular characterization of mate...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Goméz Galdós, Celia, Pérez Asensio, Andrea|||0009-0009-9565-0746, Fernández Manteca, María Gabriela, García García, Borja|||0009-0006-0686-483X, Algorri Genaro, José Francisco|||0000-0002-2654-583X, López Higuera, José Miguel|||0000-0002-8615-8487, Rodríguez Cobo, Luis|||0000-0002-2068-2956, Cobo García, Adolfo|||0000-0003-1498-9238
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Cantabria (UC)
Repositorio:UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unican.es:10902/36379
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10902/36379
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Microfluidic
ULAE
Raman spectroscopy
Cyanobacteria
Continuous flow
Descripción
Sumario:Water testing is becoming increasingly important due to dangerous phenomena such as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Commonly, the content of a water sample is measured for the detection, monitoring and control of these events. Raman spectroscopy is a technique for the molecular characterization of materials in solid, liquid or gaseous form, which makes it an attractive method for analysing materials’ components. However, Raman scattering is a weak optical process and requires an accurate system for detection. In our work, we present, from design to fabrication, a microfluidic device on fused silica adapted to optimise the Raman spectrum of liquid samples when using a Raman probe. The device features a portable design for rapid on-site continuous flow measurements avoiding the use of large, costly and complex laboratory equipment. The main manufacturing technique used was ultrafast laser-assisted etching (ULAE). Finally, the effectiveness of the microfluidic device was demonstrated by comparing the Raman spectra of a known species of cyanobacteria with those obtained using other conventional substrates in laboratory analysis. The results demonstrate that the microfluidic device, under continuous flow conditions, exhibited a lower standard deviation of the Raman signal, reduced background noise and avoided signal variations caused by sample drying in static measurements.