Design and analysis of a dual-core PCF biosensor based on SPR for cancerous cells detection

The present investigation examines a novel dual-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) for early cancer cell detection that is based on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor. The PCF is coated with Au/TiO₂ layers to boost sensor effectiveness by enhancing the adhesion between the fiber and gold layers. The sensor was simulated and analyzed using the COMSOL Multiphysics software, which is based on the finite element method (FEM). Spectral and amplitude interrogations were used to explore the RI fluctuations of various cancer cells. The observed RI values varied within the range of 1.36–1.401. The biosensor’s highest sensitivity was found to be 11,429 nm/RIU for MCF-7 cells using spectral interrogation and 1251.18 RIU⁻¹ for MDA-MB231 cells utilizing amplitude interrogation techniques. Additionally, the sensor shows the maximum resolution for basal cells, which is 8.75 × 10⁻⁶ RIU.