Abstract
Love wave surface acoustic wave (LSAW) sensors are crystal resonators known for their
high potential for biosensing applications due to their high sensitivity, real-time detection,
and compatibility with microfluidic systems. Commercial LSAWdevices are costly, and
manufacturing them is even more expensive, making accessibility a significant challenge.
Additionally, their use requires specialized systems, and with only a few manufacturers
dominating the market, most available solutions are proprietary, limiting customization
and adaptability for specific research needs. In this work, a low-cost open-source LSAW
biosensing system prototype was developed based on a commercially acquired resonator.
The development integrates microfluidics through a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip,
low-cost electronics, and both 3D printed ultraviolet (UV) resin and polylactic acid (PLA)
parts. The instrument used for measurements was a vector network analyzer (VNA) that
features open-source software. The code was customized for this study to enable realtime,
label-free biosensing. Experimental validation consisted of evaluating the sensitivity
and repeatability of the system, from the setup to its use with different fluids. Results
demonstrated that the development is able to advance to more complex applications.
Keywords:
love surface acoustic wave; system; sensing; microfluidics; low-cost; open-source