Numerical investigation of a metamaterial absorber biosensor for highly sensitive detection of viral infections in the terahertz range

This article presents a highly sensitive metamaterial absorber (MMA) proposed for biosensing applications, with a focus on identifying various virus samples, including HSV-1, Influenza-A, HIV-1, M13, and IBV (COVID-19 family). The model is optimized using CST Microwave Studio, achieving near-perfect absorption of 99.62% and 99.88% at resonances of 1.05 THz and 1.55 THz, respectively. The inherent absorption procedures are investigated through effective parameters, field, and surface current analysis. The biosensor displays exceptionally high Q-factors of 334.38 and 706.82. In the biosensing platform, it exhibits outstanding sensitivity, measuring 179.35 GHz/RIU and 254.38 GHz/RIU, with high figures of merit (FOM) of 3.47 and 3.25 RIU -1 , respectively. These attributes facilitate the precise identification of viral analytes. Due to its unique design, high Q-factor, sensitivity, FOM matrices, and frequency-selective operation, the proposed MMA-based biosensor exhibits significant potential for non-invasive, label-free virus identification, thereby contributing to impactful applications in biomedical diagnostics and public health monitoring.