Design and Optimization of Tapered Plastic Optical Fiber Biosensors for Neurodegenerative Disease Biomarker Detection

About the Project

Research Group

Biomedical Engineering Research Group

Proposed supervisory team

Dr Adil Mustafa

Dr Mohammed Zahed Khan

Theme

Optical Biosensing

Summary of the research project

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) constitute a rapidly growing global health challenge. These disorders are characterized by progressive neuronal loss and are typically diagnosed at advanced stages, when therapeutic intervention is largely ineffective. Consequently, the development of early-stage diagnostic tools capable of detecting disease associated biochemical changes is of paramount importance. A wide range of biomarkers have been investigated for neurodegenerative disease diagnosis, including amyloid-β, tau proteins, α-synuclein, and neurofilament light chain. In recent years, cortisol has emerged as a promising complementary biomarker due to its involvement in chronic stress, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, neuroinflammation, and hippocampal atrophy. Elevated cortisol levels have been correlated with accelerated cognitive decline and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting its diagnostic relevance when measured in accessible biofluids such as saliva or blood. Optical fiber biosensors represent a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques due to their compact size, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and capability for real-time, label-free detection (5; 6). Among these, evanescent-field-based fiber sensors are particularly attractive, as they exploit the interaction between the guided optical field and the surrounding analyte. Plastic optical fibers (POFs) offer additional advantages over glass fibers, including mechanical flexibility, lower cost, and ease of fabrication. Recent studies have demonstrated that symmetrically etched and tapered single mode POFs operating at telecommunication wavelengths can achieve high refractive index sensitivity when analysed using COMSOL Multiphysics. However, the application of these structures to biosensing particularly for neurodegenerative disease biomarkers remains largely unexplored. This PhD research aims to address this gap by designing and optimizing tapered POF biosensors for cortisol and binary biomarker detection.

Where you'll study

Chelmsford

Funding

This project is self-funded. Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.

Next steps

If you wish to be considered for this project, we strongly advise you contact the proposed supervisory team. You will also need to formally apply for our Engineering and the Built Environment PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.

Funding Notes

This project is self-funded. Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.