The single mode tapered optical fibre loop immunosensor

doi:10.1016/0956-5663(96)83721-3

Biosensors and Bioelectronics

Volume 11, Issues 1–2, 1996, Pages 137-148

https://doi.org/10.1016/0956-5663(96)83721-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

A novel single mode tapered optical fibre loop biochemical sensor based on fluorescence spectroscopy has been developed. The fundamental fibre mode propagates through the tapered portion of an optical fibre and generates an evanescent field which penetrates into the aqueous environment surrounding the fibre where the bio-recognition event occurs. A two-step assay was used, in which the analyte was labelled secondarily with a fluorescent dye, fluorescein isothiocyanate or tetramethyl rhodamine. When excited by the input argon ion laser light from the near end of the taper, generated fluorescence is coupled into the guided mode of the fibre and collected at the far end of the taper. Methods of making the sensor chemically reusable were investigated. The high sensitivity (75 pg/ml) of the single mode tapered loop device, combined with a simple immobilization protocol, provides a powerful tool for performing immunoassays.

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Also, tapering the fiber induces leakage of light from the fiber, enabling its interaction with the surrounding medium. Similarly, it is essential to tune some parameters, e.g., taper ratio and taper length, to reach the optimized performance for sensing applications [91,110]. In addition, the advent of PCFs, which are highly flexible in fiber structure designs, provide a novel and efficient platform for FOCS and FOBS development [19,111–113].
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The tapered fibre theoretically exposes almost the entire evanescent field to the absorbing species surrounding the tapered region. This results in a low loss and highly sensitive sensor [152]. Minkovich et al. [153] developed tapered fibres (Fig. 12) for their investigation of micro-structured optical fibres coated with thin films for gas and chemical sensing.
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Immunosensors are powerful analytical tools in clinical and veterinary diagnostics. This has led us to design a chemiluminescent immunosensor aimed at identifying anti-Brucella antibodies using optical fibers as the transducer. In order to develop the optimal transducer, to achieve an optimal chemical modification thereby allowing an optimal covalent binding of the protein receptor, several cleaning strategies and silane coupling agents were investigated. Brucella killed organisms were used as a model receptor for quantifying anti-Brucella IgG antibodies in a suspension compared to conventional colorimetric and chemiluminescent ELISA. A silane–benzophenone derivative was selected as the best performing silane coupling agent: the optical fiber immunosensor (OFIS) has showed the lowest limit of detection at 0.207 μg/ml, compared to 0.828 μg/ml and 0.414 μg/ml achieved by colorimetric and chemiluminescent ELISAs, respectively. These results, together with the additional advantages of rapidity, lower reagent volumes and moderate operating conditions, have set the grounds for further study in order to adapt this platform for on-site diagnostics of brucellosis disease markers.
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Fiber optic biosensors utilize the concept of total internal reflection (TIR), wherein the light, whether it is source or signal, transits the optical fiber by repeatedly reflecting off the cladding-core interface in a lossless fashion. For light reflecting at angles near the critical angle, a significant portion of the power extends into the cladding or medium which surrounds the core. This phenomenon, known as the evanescent wave, extends only to a short distance from the interface, with power dropping exponentially with distance. The evanescent wave has been exploited to allow for real-time interrogation of surface-specific recognition events. The majority of the evanescent wave fiber optic biosensors described to date are essentially fluorimeters that monitor fluorescent signals generated at the surface of an optical fiber probe coated with a biological recognition molecule. The majority of recent work in evanescent wave fiber optic biosensors has been in immunoassay development and analyte detection in real-world samples, alternative recognition schemes, detection of nucleic acid sequences, ‘reagentless’ sensing, and extending the capabilities of the instrumentation (miniaturization, automation, multianalyte detection, and continuous monitoring). The advantages of fiber optic sensors are that they are immune to many interfering electrochemical and electromagnetic effects that plague sensors based on electrochemical transduction, the capability of performing multiple assays in parallel, and the surface-selective nature of the evanescent wave, which allows the capability of real time measurements. A key disadvantage of evanescent wave systems is the poor coupling efficiency of the generated fluorescence back into guided modes.
Evanescent wave fiber optic biosensors
2008, Optical Biosensors
Fiber optic biosensors utilize the concept of total internal reflection (TIR), wherein the light, whether it is source or signal, transits the optical fiber by repeatedly reflecting off the cladding-core interface in a lossless fashion. For light reflecting at angles near the critical angle, a significant portion of the power extends into the cladding or medium which surrounds the core. This phenomenon, known as the evanescent wave, extends only to a short distance from the interface, with power dropping exponentially with distance. The evanescent wave has been exploited to allow for real-time interrogation of surface-specific recognition events. The majority of the evanescent wave fiber optic biosensors described to date are essentially fluorimeters that monitor fluorescent signals generated at the surface of an optical fiber probe coated with a biological recognition molecule. The majority of recent work in evanescent wave fiber optic biosensors has been in immunoassay development and analyte detection in real-world samples, alternative recognition schemes, detection of nucleic acid sequences, ‘reagentless’ sensing, and extending the capabilities of the instrumentation (miniaturization, automation, multianalyte detection, and continuous monitoring). The advantages of fiber optic sensors are that they are immune to many interfering electrochemical and electromagnetic effects that plague sensors based on electrochemical transduction, the capability of performing multiple assays in parallel, and the surface-selective nature of the evanescent wave, which allows the capability of real time measurements. A key disadvantage of evanescent wave systems is the poor coupling efficiency of the generated fluorescence back into guided modes.

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Refereed paperThe single mode tapered optical fibre loop immunosensor

Abstract

Biosensors & Bioelectr.

Infection & Immunity

J. Appl. Phys.

Optical properties of thin layers of bovine serum albumin, g-globulin and haemoglobin

Appl. Spectroscopy

Optical-fibre sensors by silylation techniques

Sensors & Actuators B

Optical Communication Systems

Fluorescent sensors based on tapered single mode optical fibres

Sensors & Act. B

Refereed paper
The single mode tapered optical fibre loop immunosensor