Nanostructure Optical Biosensors

Nanostructure Optical Biosensors 5.1 Mach–Zehnder nanowire biosensor for detection of E.coli Silica nanowires [208] offer several advantages over other types of nanowires since they are based on materials used in the most important photonic and opto-electronic applications within the visible and the near-infrared ranges and as a result their optical properties are familiar [209]. Light guided along the optical nanowire leaves a large fraction of the guided field outside the wire as evanescent waves [210], [211] making it highly sensitive to the index change of the surrounding medium. Phase shift of the guided mode caused by index change of the surrounding medium is used as a criterion for sensitivity estimation. Our simulation shows that optical nanowire waveguides are very promising for developing high-sensitivity optical sensors of significantly reduced sizes. In the aforementioned work, changes in the optical field profile, the power confinement, and the propagation constant of the guided optical mode along the sensing arm have been studied. In the present work, the aforementioned structure has been analyzed using the more rigorous and versatile FEM approach and the variation of the effective index; the optical power distribution of the guided optical mode in both the reference and the sensing arm of the sensor have been studied, by optimizing the sensitivity of important silica nanowire parameters, such as the fibre core diameter, the specimen refractive index, the wavelength, and the temperature. 5.2 Mach–Zehnder based sensor structure The proposed Mach–Zehnder-based biosensor system is formed by using two uniform silica nanowires: one used as a reference arm and the other as a sensing arm is presented in Figure 5.1(a). Both arms are immersed in aqueous solution and the surface of the sensing arm is silanized and biomodified with specific receptors for higher selective detection. A layer around the wire is formed by the complex of chemical linker, antibody and E.Coli respectively as shown in the cross section of the composite waveguide in Figure 5.1(b). The chemical linker is MUDA [mercapto undecanoic acid], its RI is 1.463 and thickness is 1.69nm and is used as linker for antibody (RI is 1.41 and thickness is 2.98nm) and the target antigen is E.coli with average RI of 1.37 and average thickness of 0.4 – 0.7 microns [212]. (a) (b) Figure 5.1: Schematic diagram of (a) the proposed sensor and (b) the cross section view of the composite waveguide, with a specimen layer. A probe light that is launched through the nanowire propagates through the first 3 dB coupler, operating as an optical splitter, which divides it between the sensing and the reference arms, and it finally recombines via the second 3 dB coupler, working as an optical combiner, as shown in Figure 5.1(a). The phase shift caused by the index change due to the specimen placed in the sensing arm is numerically calculated and evaluated from the simulated signal output of the lower nanowire, as presented in Figure 5.1(a). 5.2.1 Modal Solution Initially, the optical properties of the reference and the sensing arm of the single mode silica nanowires immersed in aqueous solution have been examined, where the latter is coated with the linker, antibody and E.coli under detection and the 3-D optical field profile of the mode of the two arms, for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm is presented in Figure 5.2. Figure 5.2: (a) 3-D field profile of the Hx mode for the reference and the sensing arm for D = 400 nm The refractive index of the single-mode silica nanowire and the aqueous solution were considered to be 1.482 and 1.355, respectively, at an operating wavelength of 325 nm [213]. As can be seen from the field profiles of the optical mode for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm, in the reference arm shown in Figure 5.2 (a), the optical field is more confined in the silica core and the aqueous solution does not have much effect on the field profile. However, for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm, in the sensing arm shown in Figure 5.2 (b) a small change in the refractive index profile produces a larger change in the field profile. As can be concluded evanescent field in the sensing arm expands more outside due to change of refractive index in the aqueous solution. The optical field confinement in the reference and the sensing arms can be better viewed from the normalized field profile along the horizontal (x)-axis, as presented in Figure 5.3 for nanowire core diameter, D, of 150 nm. As can be seen from the earlier curves in Figure 5.3, the normalized optical fields for the reference and the sensing arms have small variation in the optical field profile. Figure 5.3: Hx along the x axis for a fibre diameter of D = 150 nm. 5.2.2 Effective Index Variation Next, the variation of the effective reactive index of Hx11 in the reference and the sensing arms with the silica nanowire diameter, D, has been examined, and the results are presented in Figure 5.4. Here, the effective index of the reference arm and the effective index difference between the two arms is plotted against core diameter, over a range of 100 nm to 800 nm. As can be seen from the aforementioned characteristics, as diameter, D, decreases, the effective index also reduces, and the rate of reduction slowly increases. The effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arm is presented in Figure 5.4. It is shown in the Figure 5.1, the effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arm decreases with the increase of the core diameter. However, for a core diameter, D, of 100 nm, peak value in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff is obtained and as the core diameter increases the effective index difference decreases. Figure 5.4: Effective index (ne) and effective index difference (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff) between the reference and sensing arms as a function of the fibre diameter (D). The effective index of the sensing arm is higher than the reference arm. It is due to increase of refractive index in the sensing arm with the addition of linker, antibody and E.coli. It can be noted that as the nanowire diameter is increased, the effective index asymptotically approaches that of the Silica refractive index, when most of optical power is confined in the Silica core. The effective index is dependent on the refractive index of surrounding medium. Therefore, single mode nanowires are suitable for sensing elements and sensitive to the index change of the surrounding medium. Figure 5.5: Change in effective index (ne) and effective index difference (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff) as a function of the wavelength (ÃŽ ») Next, the effective index for the reference arm and the effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arms are presented, with the variation of the wavelength, in Figure 5.5. As can be seen from the Figure 5.5, the effective index of reference arm decreases with the increase of the wavelength and the effective index difference increases linearly with the increase of the wavelength for core diameter of 400 nm. When the wavelength increases, the mode is weakly confined and penetrates more into the sensing region of the sensing arm hence increases the effective index. However, when the wavelength decreases, the mode is well confined and decays more into the core region hence decreases the effective index of sensing arm. 5.2.3 Power confinement Further, the power fraction in the aqueous solution for the reference and the sensing arm has also been studied with the variation of the nanowire core diameter and the result is presented in Figure 5.6. As can be seen from the aforementioned characteristics, for a core diameter, D, of 100nm the field extends mostly in the aqueous solution for both the reference and the sensing arms. However sensing arm exhibits more power in the aqueous solution than the power in the aqueous solution of reference arm. It is due to refractive index change in the aqueous solution of sensing arm when target antigen (E.Coli) is attached to immobilised antibody. As the value of D is increased further, the power in the aqueous solution is reduced since the field is more confined in the core region. Figure 5.6: Power fraction in aqueous solution for the sensing and the reference arms as a function of the fibre diameter (D). The change of the power fraction in the different regions of the sensing arm has been studied and is presented in Figure 5.7. As can be seen from the characteristics, shown in Figure 5.7, when the wavelength increases, the mode is weakly confined, and hence, less power is seen in the core region and more power is present in the cladding aqueous region. The mode is well confined for smaller wavelength values and more power is present in the core silica region. However, as the wavelength increases, the mode becomes weakly confined and more power is present in the aqueous solution region compared to the silica core region. Figure 5.7: Power fraction for the sensing arm as a function of wavelength for a fibre diameter of D = 400 nm 5.2.4 Effect of thickness Next, the change in the propagation constant ÃŽ ² of sensing arm and the power fraction in the aqueous solution of sensing arm as a function of the E.Coli thickness, for a core diameter of D = 400 nm, have been investigated and are presented in Figure 5.8. As the E.Coli thickness increases, both the propagation constant and the power fraction in the sensing arm decrease linearly. Figure 5.8: Change in propagation constant (ÃŽ ²) and power fraction in the E.coli with the variation of the E.coli thickness. As the thickness of E.coli increases the power fraction in the sensing arm and propagation constant of the sensing arm mode decreases with the increase in thickness of E.coli. This is due to the penetration of evanescent field into the sensing region decreases with increase of E.coli thickness. With the increase of sensing layer thickness evanescent field will not penetrate deep into the sensing region. However smaller nanowires with diameter of 100 nm and 200 nm may be used to penetrate more evanescent field into the sensing region. 5.2.5 Sensitivity The effective index change is produced either by a change of cover medium refractive index (homogeneous sensing) or by a change of thickness of E.coli which is immobilized on nanowire (surface sensing). Adlayer thickness and change of cover medium refractive index affects the effective index of the propagating optical mode. Measurement of sensitivity depends on optical field distribution in the sensing medium therefore the most important design task is to maximize the sensitivity of the biosensor. Figure 5.9 shows the change in effective index and waveguide sensitivity decreases with the increase in diameter, D, of silica nanowire. The larger effective index variation and waveguide sensitivity is achieved at a D = 100 nm. The greater the change in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff more sensitive the biosensor will be. Therefore, when D = 100nm maximum index difference is achieved. When the nanowire dimension becomes too large, most of the power is confined in the silica core and a smaller effective index difference is achieved hence lesser sensitivity. Figure 5.9: Variation of effective index difference, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff and waveguide sensitivity with Diameter, D (nm), of silica nanowire. When designing a sensor, the sensitivity is a very important parameter to evaluate the device performance. To study the sensitivity of our device, we use the sensor to detect the change in the effective index of mode with the change in the refractive index of surrounding medium. When there is an extremely small index change around the nanowire, the guided light is changed in its optical phase. We assumed the sensing area length, L = 75 µm. Calculated Δneff is about 0.0131/ÃŽ ¼m at the wavelength of 325 nm induced by coating the nanowire with E.coli layer for a 400nm diameter silica nanowire. Figure 5.10a: Sensitivity of the sensor as a function of the wavelength The phase shift (Δφ) of the sensing arm can be obtained as; (5.1) Where L is the effective length of sensitive area and Δneff is the effective index difference between the sensing arm and the reference arm, respectively. It is shown in the Figure 5.10a that the sensitivity of the device decreases with the increase in the wavelength and higher sensitivity of 697nm/RIU is achieved at wavelength of 325 nm. For comparison, the sensitivity of conventional Mach–Zehnder sensors based on integrated planar waveguides is much lower [209], showing that much higher sensitivity, or equivalently much smaller size can be achieved when sensing with silica nanowires. Figure 5.10b shows the variation of output power as a function of wavelength. MZI has two arms, one is used as sensing arm and another used as reference arm. The sensing arm is where the interaction between the biolayer and the optical signal takes places. After the propagation in these two arms, the two optical signals accumulate a phase shift Δφ. The optical power (Pout) at the exit of the interferometer is determined by the phase difference Δφ between the two waves at the junction which can be obtained as; Pout = 1+Cos Δφ (5.2) Figure 5.10b: Combined power as a function of wavelength, ÃŽ » (nm) In all variation of the wavelength, Δφ ≠  0, this is caused by the deposition of a biolayer around the sensing arm, therefore, the optical output power is different too in all variation of the wavelength. 5.3 Slot-waveguide biosensor for detection of DNA hybridisation. Slot waveguides present an interesting alternative when compared to rib or strip waveguide based biosensors where light is predominantly guided in the high index material. The light thus has little interaction with the biomaterial. This is a drawback for biosensing applications where small refractive index variations caused by biomolecular interactions are monitored. In case of slot waveguide, light is confined in a low index slot region sandwiched between two high index rails. Due to the discontinuity of the electric field at the interface between the rails and slot, a significant fraction of the electromagnetic field is localized in the slot. The sensitivity of an optical waveguide sensor relies on the amount of light in the medium to be sensed. Due to the increased amount of power confined in the slot region higher sensitivities will be achieved as compared to other waveguide based biosensors. Author of [128] has compared conventional slot waveguide, slot rib waveguides and Si wire for sensing of aqueous solution. However the work presented here is based on the slot waveguide micro ring resonation for the detection of DNA Hybridization binding of complementary DNA strands (targets) to DNA probes. Moreover we have calculated wavelength shift, device sensitivity, detection Limit, and power density and compared with the experimental work published in [214], [215], [216] and [217]. In the present work, the H-field Finite Element Method (FEM) based full-vector formulation is used for the solution of the TE and TM Slot Waveguide modes where the TE mode is highly confined in the slot region as compared to TM mode. In the FEM, a problem domain can suitably be divided into a patchwork of a finite number of subregions called â€Å"elements†. Each of the elements can have different shapes and sizes and by using many elements a complex problem can be accurately represented. In using the aforementioned approach, the field distribution in the transverse plane is obtained by the application of the variational formulation in the region. More recently, slot waveguide based biosensors have been investigated using Finite difference time domain method (FDTD) and Finite Element Method [218,219,220]. In the present work by optimising the slot waveguide parameters such as the slot width, guide width and guide height a compact biosensor is proposed. The aim of this work is to provide a novel comprehensive analysis defining the modal characteristics, effective index variation of ssDNA and dsDNA, surface sensitivity and power confinement in the DNA layer of a slot waveguide biosensor with a nanoscale cross-section, and in doing so, the effects of the critical size of such waveguide are also presented. To undertake such analysis, an accurate and numerically efficient vector-H-field finite-element method (VFEM) [221] is used to calculate the propagation constant, effective index, power confinement factor and the full-vectorial modal field profiles of the waveguide. The full-vectorial electric field (E) is also derived from the vector H-field obtained to characterize modal properties of such waveguides. 5.3.1 Slot waveguide structure Figure 5.11: Slot Waveguide Biosensor A slot waveguide is investigated for the biosensing applications. The slot waveguide is formed by two Si wires close to each other having nanometer dimensions as shown in Figure 5.11. Refractive index (RI) of silicon, silicon oxide and water is taken as 3.476, 1.444 and 1.31 respectively at an operating wavelength of 1550nm. The sensing structure is first coated with a linker layer (silanes) whose refractive index is taken as 1.42 [222] having a thickness of t=1 nm. The refractive index of ssDNA and dsDNA is taken as 1.456 and 1.53 [223] respectively. The thickness of the DNA probe layer is taken as n=8 nm and remains unchanged when binding of complementary DNA strands (targets) to DNA probes happens i.e., only refrective index changes from 1.456 (ssDNA) to 1.53 (dsDNA). A waveguide height, GH = 320 nm and high index region width, GW = 180 nm [128], slot width, SW = 100 nm, linker layer thickness of t=1 nm and DNA probe thickness of n=8 nm is considered for the initial simulation study. 5.3.2 Modal solutions In the study of modal field profile, the H-field based VFEM is used to obtain the modal solutions of such a waveguide. For this study, due to the availability of two-fold symmetry of the waveguide structure, only a half of the structure is considered, in which more than 80,000 irregular sized first order triangular elements have been employed to represent the waveguide structure. It takes about 2 minutes cpu time on a dual-core Pentium processor computer running solaris platform. Figure 5.12: Hy field of the Hy11 mode Figure 5.13: Hy Contour of Hy11 mode The structure supports both fundamental quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes. For the quasi-TE mode the Hy field component is dominant, and Hx and Hz are the nondominant components. The dominant Hy field component of the Hy11 mode is shown in Figure 5.12 for the waveguide width, GW = 180 nm and height, GH = 320 nm In its contour plot as shown in Figure 5.13 it is clearly visible that the modal confinement is much stronger in the slot region. Due to the large index contrast at interfaces, the normal electric field undergoes a large discontinuity, which results in a field enhancement in the slot region.

Organization Psychology Essay

During the period between 2002 and 2005 a cancer center in Jordan i. e. King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) changed its organization model from traditional to transformed model. The need for transformation was in response to external factors of the environment in order to accommodate the needs of its stakeholders. Initially the center was called Al-Amar center which had operations and image problems that were affecting the organization (Miller, 2006). Al-Amar centre was perceived to be ineffective institution for caring of cancer . However it has transformed into a comprehensive centre for cancer that resemble western styles. The name of this centre changed to King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) following the change between 2002 and 2005 there were improved care services and improved its quality levels. In the same period the center was accredited and achieved Joint Commission International (JCI) (Miller, 2006). Organization Psychology Following the changes of KHCC it was able to achieve accountability, fiscal balance, certificate of accreditation from the international body and diversification of the service. There are three concepts which are believed to have led to the rapid changes in KHCC these are transnational culture, transformational leadership and political competence (Jeffrey, Gregory & Andrew, 2007). Both natural and political values are included in transformational leadership formulation. Transformational leadership can be explained by looking at the values, norms and cultural organization behavior; others are like internal negotiations, political influence in assessing such resources and setting external boundaries. The mechanisms that facilitated changes lie within the capabilities of the leaders and their behavior. The leaders in KHCC were seen to sacrifice themselves a great deal in drawing out themselves and the followers. The leaders were devoted to attend to the needs of patients and those of lower level employees. This was in an effort to raise the healthcare standards the attributes that result from transformational leadership are universal and are mediated by specific cultural expectations from the lower employees (Miller, 2006). The characteristics of leadership in KHCC were not cultural specific. There is new form of leadership that is different from the previous one. The new leadership is goal oriented and allows participation of the followers in identification, implementation and evaluation of projects and programs aimed at improving the performance of the healthcare. However transformational leadership can be autocratic or democratic but the form of leadership that is observed in KHCC involves all the stakeholders in the project design and implementation of their programs. The aspect of involvement of the stakeholders fall under four components in KHCC i. e. intellectual stimulation, idealized stimulation, ideological motivation and individual consideration (Jeffrey, Gregory & Andrew, 2007). Inspirational motivation can be created by leaders by articulating the future of the organization through setting of higher goals and standards that are inspiring and appealing to the follower. These goals or standards make the follower to be optimistic in what they are doing and therefore they will sacrifice themselves even where there are difficulties. For an organization to move to higher level of service it requires the team members to sacrifice themselves. Activities such as problem solving, daily meeting and working in late hour’s in order to meet the goals and objectives of the organization requires personal sacrifice and therefore there is need for the stake holders to be motivated (Miller, 2006). Initially the safety of the patients was compromised and therefore the leaders and the followers of KHCC committed themselves inured to create higher standards and improve the health care services. Idealized influence can be achieved when the follower admire or emulate a leader as being ideal. The followers of KHCC admired their leaders since they had high level of commitment, show of professionalism and they were willing to take care of patients. Respect of the leaders is also necessary in the achievement of the vision of the organization. In KHCC the goals are expressed to the team as inspirations and all the stakeholders are involved. There is training for staff at all levels based on the individual needs. Team building serves to reinforce commitment mutual respect and gathering ideas. Intellectual stimulation and individual consideration are behaviors among the leaders that attend to individuals with challenging issues or needs, concerns and soliciting the ideas of others (Andrea, 1997). Cultural sensitivity also contributed to the transformation of KHCC. This refers to the art of understanding the preference, norms and biases which may result to ineffective patient interaction. Cultural sensitivity and competence contribute to the success of the organization. At KHCC the staffs are recruited with knowledge of global technologies and communication that contribute to a medical society globally. Currently many international corporations are living expatriates with both local and western knowledge. Cultural competence can be gained by deploying information technology (Bommel, 2005). Prior to the transformation of KHCC information technology was poor and therefore the rapid growth of the center required a wider distribution of information technology. At KHCC video conferencing internet and e-mail access, access to national and global libraries of health, telepathology have been made possible. The increased use of information technology has influenced transnational culture (Moe, 2007). The establishment of the information technology was to enhance the health services to patients. The technologies have made KHCC to advance into western center for cancer. There is advanced training that has facilitated competent and qualified clinical scientist who is familiar with therapeutic and clinical oncopology practice. Through the training they have succeeded in both internal and international medical environment (Bommel, 2005). â€Å"End of life† is a service that has been implemented in KHCC and did not exist previously. This is a system that was implemented during transformation and was aimed at prolonging life. The system is also aimed at paying attention to quality of life of patients. The staffs have been able to create and mobilize cultural support through training that they undergo under palliative care. The staff has also diversified their language in order to break the language barrier and cater for the needs of all the stake holders. The influence and control between the stakeholders also have contributed to the rapid transformation of KHCC. The confidence and trust that is created by the leaders confer the followers’ willingness to follow or have an explanation of their willingness. KHCC staffs were able to create this confidence among their followers and therefore contributed to the rapid growth (Andrea, 1997). The staffs were also genuine and sincere in their commitment towards the achievement of KHCC the relationship between the domestic organization of healthcare, senior staffs and the overseas organization was vital for the transformation of KHCC. This relationship enabled the center to use effectively the technologies in order to cater for the needs of the stakeholders. Conclusion Culture extends beyond the boundaries of institutes. The professional role of culture and cultural context that is carried within information technology can make globalization to be possible. Political competence as a characteristic of a leader has a particular utility in the role of government in promoting health care and resource use and exchanges. Government incentives should include political capabilities in setting external broader boundaries in environment. Political capabilities can help to achieve the desired goals of an institution since they impact on their financial status. Therefore political competence need to be identified and leaders be trained on how to posses them. During the rapid changes of KHCC there were growing number of patients and programs and services increased (Moe, 2007)

Jails and Prisons Essay

Many people hear the words prison and or jail, and they believe that both are one in the same but in reality they are very much different. Jails are correctional facilities that house offenders before or after they are sentenced for their crimes committed. Those individuals that are confined in jails are: * Individuals pending arraignment and awaiting trial, conviction, or sentencing * Probation, parole, and bail bond violators and absconders (Seiter,2011 pg 71) There are many different other reasons jails house inmates. Jails are full service facilities that offer security, food service, medical care, and offender programs and are therefore different from lockups, which are commonly located in police stations and hold people only for a short period of time, usually no more than forty-eight hours. †(Seitter, 2011) Sheriff’s and local governments oversee the day to day operation of jails and there are different jails such as the regional jail which were created because th e basic operations of jails were becoming complicated for small counties and the need for funding to continue operations. There are about 3,600 jails in the United States. â€Å"The size of the jail population is a product of decisions made by various law enforcement entities that the jail serves, the courts, and other segments of the criminal justice system. The size of the jail population is also affected by local, state, and federal laws; crime rates; and public attitudes about crime. †(nicic. gov) The length of stay and those admitted to jails are quite different from prisons. There have been almost 9 to 11 admissions to jail and the average length of stay is 15 to twenty days. Sometimes a person stays longer if they are still fighting a case thus pushing out their court dates which extends their stay provided they cannot afford bail. â€Å"During 2003, 686,437 inmates were admitted to state and federal prisons, 656,320 inmates were released, and the average length of stay for released inmates was 36 months. The jail system booking and release procedures are on a constant whirlwind with bail bonds and so forth. There are different jails as well such as state jails and county jails. In state jails an inmate can spend no more than two years maximum. Prisons Prisons are run by state governments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. There are only about 100 federal prisons, detention centers, and correctional institutions in the U. S. Prisons were created to house inmates that are serving a sentence of one year or more that are convicted of crimes. Prisons offer more to inmates such as work programs, Halfway houses and other educational programs that could possibly benefit the offender. These sorts of incentives are not offered in jails because inmates are usually serving shorter sentences. There are different facilities such as BOP operated prisons, long term contract facilities and jails/short term facilities. Many offenders in prison are set in place by their security levels. Some are deemed as low risk, medium risk or high risk offenders which determine where they are housed. The prison budget has been over exceeded with the operations and also building more prisons to prevent overcrowding. Corrections is the fifth-largest area of state spending after Medicaid, secondary education, higher education and transportation. State spending on prisons has swelled as the nation’s jail and prison population has climbed to 2. 3 million people, or about one in every 100 adults. But grim budget realities are forcing state lawmakers’ hand. †(pewtrusts. org) There is a difference in jails and prisons as well as how they are operated. Prisons house offenders that have been convicted of crimes whereas jails house those awaiting trial as well as those serving shorter sentences. Prisons and jails have come a long way and there will be more changes to come with the world’s crime rate as it is. References At Least 23 States Cut Funding for Prisons This Year, August 11, 2009 The Pew Charitable Trusts http://www. pewtrusts. org/our_work_report_detail. aspx? id=54481 Corrections: An Introduction; Richard P. Seiter 3rd edition 2011 Upper Saddle River New York Jail Resource Issues What Every Funding Authority Need to Know, Gary M. Bowker February 2002 http://static. nicic. gov/Library/017372. pdf

Antigone by Sophocles - Plot Summary

Antigone is a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles. It was written in 441 B.C. Setting of the Play: Ancient Greece Antigones Twisted Family Tree A brave and proud young woman named Antigone is the product of a really messed up family. Her father, Oedipus, was the King of Thebes. He unknowingly murdered his father and married his own mother, Queen Jocasta. With his wife/mother, Oedipus had two daughter/sisters and two brother/sons. When Jocasta found out the truth of their incestuous relationship, she killed herself. Oedipus was pretty upset too. He plucked out his eyeballs. Then, he spent his remaining years wandering through Greece, being led by his loyal daughter Antigone. After Oedipus died, his two sons (Eteocles and Polynices) battled for control of the kingdom. Eteocles fought to defend Thebes. Polynices and his men attacked the city. Both brothers died. Creon ( Antigones uncle) became the official ruler of Thebes. (Theres a lot of upward mobility in this city-state. Thats what happens when your bosses kill each other.) Divine Laws v. Man-made Laws Creon buried Eteocless body with honor. But because the other brother was perceived as a traitor, Polynicess body was left to rot, a tasty snack for vultures and vermin. However, leaving human remains unburied and exposed to the elements was an affront to the Greek Gods. So, at the plays beginning, Antigone decides to defy Creons laws. She gives her brother a proper funeral. Her sister Ismene warns that Creon will punish any who defy the law of the city. Antigone believes that the law of the gods supersedes a kings decree. Creon doesnt see things that way. He is very angry and sentences Antigone to death. Ismene asks to be executed along with her sister. But Antigone doesnt want her by her side. She insists that she alone buried the brother, so she alone will receive punishment (and possible reward from the gods). Creon Needs To Loosen Up As if things werent complicated enough, Antigone has a boyfriend: Haemon, the son of Creon. He tries to convince his father that mercy and patience are called for. But the more they debate, the more Creons anger grows. Haemon leaves, threatening to do something rash. At this point, the people of Thebes, represented by the Chorus, are uncertain as to who is right or wrong. It seems Creon is starting to feel a little bit worried because instead of executing Antigone, he orders her to be sealed inside a cave. (That way, if she dies, her death will be in the hands of the gods). But after she is sent to her doom, a blind old wise man enters. He is Tiresias, a seer of the future, and he brings an important message: Creon, you made a big stupid mistake! (It sounds fancier in Greek.) Suspecting the old man of treason, Creon becomes infuriated and refuses Tiresias wisdom. The old man becomes very cranky and predicts bad things for Creons near future. Creon Changes His Mind (Too Late) Finally scared, Creon rethinks his decisions. He dashes off to release Antigone. But hes too late. Antigone has already hanged herself. Haemon grieves beside her body. He attacks his father with a sword, misses completely, and then stabs himself, dying. Mrs. Creon (Eurydice) hears of her sons death and kills herself. (I hope you werent expecting a comedy.) By the time Creon returns to Thebes, the Chorus tells Creon the bad news. They explain that There is no escape from the doom we must endure. Creon realizes that his stubbornness has led to his familys ruin. The Chorus ends the play by offering a final message: The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate. The End!