Design and application of terahertz metamaterial sensor based on DSRRs in clinical quantitative detection of carcinoembryonic antigen.

The terahertz (THz) metamaterial biosensor has great potential for label-free and rapid specificity testing. Here, we designed two highly sensitive structures to detect the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) of the cancer biomarker in early stages. There was about 29 GHz (500 ng/ml) resonance shift for CEA with an insert grate metamaterial, which was consistent with simulation results. Moreover, the concentration of CEA was gained through the relationship between the cancer marker concentration and frequency shift (Δƒ). Our design and detection methods may provide a potential route for the early warning stages of cancer.