Abstract-Bio-chemical Process Monitoring with Terahertz Sensor

Y. Zhang, V. Matvejev, S. Declerck, S. Stroobants, G. Pandey, G. He, D. Mangelings, D. Maes, S. Muyldermans, J. Stiens

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-024-1093-8_4

An in-house developed Label-free Immobilization-free Terahertz (THz) sensor has shown its potential in various applications [1]. In this paper, we present the experimental results in the field of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and protein crystallization. Ultra-Violet (UV) detectors are very commonly used as a detection technique in HPLC systems. However, it relies on labelling when target substances do not absorb UV light. Therefore, it has the drawback of increased cost and time consumption. Our experimental result shows that THz sensor has the potential to replace UV sensor integrated on the HPLC machine as it is able to detect both UV and non-UV absorbing substances without labelling. Meanwhile, the THz sensor is also deployed for the first time to follow a protein crystallization process.