Formation and biofunctionalisation of polymer photonic crystals by replica moulding from porous silicon

All-polymer photonic structures have attracted wide attention due to significant advances in simple strategies for their fabrication and adaptability to mass production. Their application in biosensing is particularly attractive as they possess unique optical properties and show great compatibility with biological systems. Here we report the fabrication and simple functionalisation of polystyrene photonic structures, underpinning their potential as robust and versatile optical sensing platforms. These polymer structures are created by replica moulding from porous silicon, a material known for its tunable morphological properties, versatile optical features, and promising performance as a label-free optical sensor. Ozone oxidation introduces hydrophilic functionalities onto the polystyrene surface which facilitate further immobilisation of bioreceptors via simple bioconjugate chemistry for sensing applications.