Bio-information scanning technology using an optical pick-up head

We have developed a low cost and a highly compact bio-chip detection technology by modifying a commercially available optical pick-up head for CD/DVD. The highly parallel and miniaturized hybridization assays are addressed by the fluorescence emitted by the DNA-chip using the optical pick-up head. The gap between the objective lens and the bio-chip is regulated by the focus servo during the detection of the fluorescence signal. High-resolution and high-speed scanning is effectively realized by this simple scanning system instead of utilizing high-precision mechanism. Regardless of achievement of effective detection mechanism, the technique of fluorescence detection can prove to be disadvantageous because of the low stability of the dyes with low S/N ratio and an expensive setup such as a PMT detector is always required for fluorescence detection. We propose, for the first time, a novel scanning scheme based on metal nanoparticles in combination with a bio-chip substrate having a phase change recording layer. We found that the phase change process is highly affected by the existence of the densely condensed metal nanoparticles on the phase change layer during the writing process of the pick-up head.