(347h) Towards the Detection of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds: Using Whispering Gallery Mode Optical Biosensors to Detect Estrogen Mimics

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can disturb the development of both the endocrine system, and of the organs that respond to endocrine signals, in organisms indirectly exposed to EDCs during prenatal and/or early postnatal life.  Large numbers of potential EDCs have been released into the environment due to industrial processing.  Unfortunately, many of these potential EDCs are poorly understood in terms of in vivo toxicity, chronic exposure impact, and threshold levels.  The first step towards protecting human and animal health is to develop new experimental platforms capable of detecting potential EDCs on the basis of their interaction with known endocrine receptors.  Here, we propose to use highly sensitive and specific, label-free whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical biosensors to identify trace amounts of potential EDCs in contaminated source waters.  As a proof of concept, we will evaluate the sensitivity of the WGM biosensors towards the detection of diethylstilbestrol (DES), phthalate and nonylphenol.  The surface chemistry of these devices is demonstrated using XPS, SEM, and fluorescent and optical microscopy.  The optical performance of the biosensors is characterized by microcavity analysis.  This work represents one of the first examples of the use of these highly sensitive devices for environmental pathogens, and will improve the detection methods used to monitor EDCs.