Optical Detection of Ketoprofen by Its Electropolymerization on an Indium Tin Oxide-Coated Optical Fiber Probe

In this work an application of optical fiber sensors for real-time optical monitoring of electrochemical deposition of ketoprofen during its anodic oxidation is discussed. The sensors were fabricated by reactive magnetron sputtering of indium tin oxide (ITO) on a 2.5 cm-long core of polymer-clad silica fibers. ITO tuned in optical properties and thickness allows for achieving a lossy-mode resonance (LMR) phenomenon and it can be simultaneously applied as an electrode in an electrochemical setup. The ITO-LMR electrode allows for optical monitoring of changes occurring at the electrode during electrochemical processing. The studies have shown that the ITO-LMR sensor’s spectral response strongly depends on electrochemical modification of its surface by ketoprofen. The effect can be applied for real-time detection of ketoprofen. The obtained sensitivities reached over 1400 nm/M (nm·mg⁻¹·L) and 16,400 a.u./M (a.u.·mg⁻¹·L) for resonance wavelength and transmission shifts, respectively. The proposed method is a valuable alternative for the analysis of ketoprofen within the concentration range of 0.25–250 μg mL⁻¹, and allows for its determination at therapeutic and toxic levels. The proposed novel sensing approach provides a promising strategy for both optical and electrochemical detection of electrochemical modifications of ITO or its surface by various compounds.