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•The co-assembly of SiO2 and polymethylmethacrylate microspheres was used to fabricate the optimum structure of SiO2 inverse opal.•By injection of 20 different metal salts in the ...structure, a blue or red shift of the photonic band gap (PBG) was recorded.•These behaviors were attributed to the unique influence of each salt on the lattice constant of the structures.•The interplay between the hydrophilicity of SiO2 and the hygroscopic nature of the metal salts determined whether the PBG shifted toward blue or red.•The highest redshift in PBG for Hg(NO3)2 and blueshift for Zn(NO3)2 was 19 nm and 16 nm, respectively.
In this paper, SiO2 inverse opal photonic crystals, made by the co-assembly of SiO2 and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres, were used to detect 20 different metal salts with a concentration of 0.002 mol/L. Surprisingly, two different behaviors were observed. Some metal salts caused a redshift in photonic bandgap (PBG) while the others led to a PBG’s blueshift. The observed different behaviors of salts are due to their distinct influence on the lattice constant of the inverse structures which was precisely investigated by analyzing the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. It has been revealed that the competition between the hydrophilicity of SiO2 and the hygroscopicity of metal salts led to a shift of PBG toward blue or red. The maximum shift in the PBG range was observed for mercury (II) nitrate salt (19 nm), which indicates a sensitivity of 9.5 nm per concentration unit (mM). Furthermore, the lowest displacement of the PBG was observed for the sodium nitrate salt (5 nm), which represents a sensitivity of 2.5 nm/mM. The lowest and highest values of the detection limit (LOD) for mercury (II) nitrate salt and sodium nitrate salt equal 0.193 mmol/L and 0.887 mmol/L, respectively. In addition, according to the calibration curve, with a regression coefficient of R2 > 0.95, there is a linear relationship between the salt concentration and the displacement of the PBG of the structure. Based on the results illustrating the sensitivity of the synthesized inverse opal to the type and concentration of the salts, inverse opal can be regarded as a promising structure to create a new perspective in the field of chemical sensing.
The rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen has generated a huge international public ...health emergency. Currently the reference diagnostic technique for virus determination is Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) real time analysis that requires specialized equipment, reagents and facilities and typically 3-4 h to perform. Thus, the realization of simple, low-cost, small-size, rapid and point-of-care diagnostics tests has become a global priority. In response to the current need for quick, highly sensitive and on-site detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in several aqueous solutions, a specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) receptor has been designed, realized, and combined with an optical sensor. More specifically, the proof of concept of a SARS-CoV-2 sensor has been demonstrated by exploiting a plasmonic plastic optical fiber sensor coupled with a novel kind of synthetic MIP nano-layer, especially designed for the specific recognition of Subunit 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. First, we have tested the effectiveness of the developed MIP receptor to bind the Subunit 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, then the results of preliminary tests on SARS-CoV-2 virions, performed on samples of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs in universal transport medium (UTM) and physiological solution (0.9% NaCl), were compared with those obtained with RT-PCR. According to these preliminary results, the sensitivity of the proposed optical-chemical sensor proved to be higher than the RT-PCR one. Furthermore, a relatively fast response time (about 10 min) to the virus was obtained without the use of additional reagents.
The indicator-based polymeric color standards for color referencing in digital color analysis (DCA) of optical chemical sensors (optodes) are proposed. In the novel standards, the colors referring to ...the actual absorption bands of the protonated and deprotonated forms of the indicator are mixed in constant proportions. The standards are based on the lipophilic pH-indicators: ETH5350 and ETH2439, commonly used in optodes, and the lipophilic electrolyte TBATBB. The dependence of the standard color on the TBATBB concentration in the optode is established and found to be linear. The standard colors remain unchanged upon varying the solution pH and the nature and the concentration of the electrolyte. Calibration curves of the indicator pH-optodes obtained in horse serum and referenced to the developed standards demonstrate lower error to span ratio, broader span and higher sensitivity as compared to the same data processed with the conventional gray standard. The colorimetric signal of the pH-optodes array measured in serum sample and referenced to the developed standards allowed accurate determination of the sample pH thus demonstrating practical prospects of the proposed color standards.
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•Indicator-based polymeric color standards were developed for digital color analysis.•The standard color can be tuned by changing composition of the polymeric membrane.•The developed color standards are independent on the solution composition.•The color standards are applicable for digital color analysis with optodes in serum.
Recent progress in optical chemical sensors Qazi, Hummad Habib; bin Mohammad, Abu Bakar; Akram, Muhammad
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland),
12/2012, Volume:
12, Issue:
12
Journal Article, Book Review
Peer reviewed
Open access
Optical chemical sensors have promoted escalating interest in the determination of various pollutants in the environment, which are creating toxicity and may cause serious health problems. This ...review paper focuses particularly on the recent progress and developments in this field; the working principles and basic classes of optical chemical sensors have been briefly described.
Highly sensitive plasmonic optical fiber platforms combined with receptors have been recently used to obtain selective sensors. A low-cost configuration can be obtained exploiting a D-shaped plastic ...optical fiber covered with a multilayer sensing surface. The multilayer consists of a gold film, functionalized with a specific receptor, where the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) occurs. The signal is produced by the refractive index variation occurring as a consequence of the receptor-to analyte binding. In this work, a selective sensor for copper(II) detection in drinking water, exploiting a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of d,l-penicillamine as the sensing layer, has been developed and tested. Different concentrations of copper(II) in NaCl 0.1 M solutions at different pH values and in a real matrix (drinking water) have been considered. The results show that the sensor is able to sense copper(II) at concentrations ranging from 4 × 10
M to 2 × 10
M. The use of this optical chemical sensor is a very attractive perspective for fast, in situ and low-cost detection of Cu(II) in drinking water for human health concerns. Furthermore, the possibility of remote control is feasible as well, because optical fibers are employed.
An optical–chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL ...measurement is a scientific topic of great interest in different application fields, such as human health and life status monitoring in power transformers. The proposed sensor is realized by using two POFs as segmented waveguides (SW) coupled through a micro-trench milled between the fibers and then filled with a specific MIP for the 2-FAL detection. The experimental results show that the developed intensity-based sensor system is highly selective and sensitive to 2-FAL detection in aqueous solutions, with a limit of detection of about 0.04 mg L−1. The proposed sensing approach is simple and low-cost, and it shows performance comparable to that of plasmonic MIP-based sensors present in the literature for 2-FAL detection.
An innovative optical-chemical sensor has been used to detect the 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL) in milk. The proposed sensing approach exploits the refractive index changing in a microstructured chip based ...on a plastic optical fiber (POF) with orthogonal micro-holes containing a specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). This POF-MIP chemical chip modifies the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomena excited in another sensor chip realized in POFs (SPR-POF) and connected in series. The proposed sensor configuration exploits MIP receptors avoiding any modification of the gold film of the SPR platform. This work reports the performance, particularly the high sensitivity and low detection limit, in complex matrices such as buffalo milk fortified with 2-FAL and in different commercial kinds of cow milk thermally treated for pasteurization. The measurements were carried out in about ten minutes by dropping the solution under-test on the planar D-shaped POF surface of the chemical chip. In contrast, on the gold surface of the SPR-POF platform, a water drop is always placed to excite the SPR phenomenon, which is modulated by the chemical chip via MIP-2-FAL binding. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrated the pros and cons of the proposed sensor system. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the sensor system, the detection of 2-FAL in the diluted milk sample (1:50) was achieved. The dilution is required to reduce the interferent effect of the complex matrix.
This work proposes an analysis relative to an optical-chemical sensor used to detect furanic compounds in aqueous solutions. The optical platform consists of a flexible substrate covered with ...inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle lines; on the latter, a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layer specific for a furanic compound detection, i.e., furan-2-carbaldehyde (2-FAL), is then deposited. Two plastic optical fibers (POFs) are used to launch the light into the optical-chemical sensor and collect it at the platform's output. For the first time, an oblique lines-based pattern has been tested for 2-FAL detection in water. The performances of the sensor based on this pattern have been compared to two other similar sensor configurations in which the inkjet-printed lines are located in different directions with respect to the input light respectively longitudinally and orthogonally. In this work, the characterization has been carried out by two different experimental setups. In such a way, it has been determined that the printed pattern has a noticeable influence on the chemical performance of the proposed 2-FAL sensor. Moreover, selectivity tests have been performed, to confirm the good selectivity of the proposed optical-chemical platform. The obtained results have added more information relative to a simple, low-cost, highly sensitive and selective sensing approach.
A range of nanophotonic sensors composed of different materials and device configurations have been developed over the past two decades. These sensors have achieved high performance in terms of ...sensitivity and detection limit. The size of onchip nanophotonic sensors is also small and they are regarded as a strong candidate to provide the next generation sensors for a range of applications including chemical and biosensing for point-of-care diagnostics. However, the apparatus used to perform measurements of nanophotonic sensor chips is bulky, expensive and requires experts to operate them. Thus, although integrated nanophotonic sensors have shown high performance and are compact themselves their practical applications are limited by the lack of a compact readout system required for their measurements. To achieve the aim of using nanophotonic sensors in daily life it is important to develop nanophotonic sensors which are not only themselves small, but their readout system is also portable, compact and easy to operate. Recognizing the need to develop compact readout systems for onchip nanophotonic sensors, different groups around the globe have started to put efforts in this direction. This review article discusses different works carried out to develop integrated nanophotonic sensors with compact readout systems, which are divided into two categories; onchip nanophotonic sensors with monolithically integrated readout and onchip nanophotonic sensors with separate but compact readout systems.
A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) platform, based on a D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF), combined with a biomimetic receptor, i.e., a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), is proposed to detect ...furfural (2-furaldheide, 2-FAL) in fermented beverages like wine. MIPs have been demonstrated to be a very convenient biomimetic receptor in the proposed sensing device, being easy and rapid to develop, suitable for on-site determinations at low concentrations, and cheap. Moreover, the MIP film thickness can be changed to modulate the sensing parameters. The possibility of performing single drop measurements is a further favorable aspect for practical applications. For example, the use of an SPR-MIP sensor for the analysis of 2-FAL in a real life matrix such as wine is proposed, obtaining a low detection limit of 0.004 mg L
. The determination of 2-FAL in fermented beverages is becoming a crucial task, mainly for the effects of the furanic compounds on the flavor of food and their toxic and carcinogenic effect on human beings.
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