Inline integration of offset MMF-capillary-MMF structure as a portable and compact fiber-optic surface-enhanced Raman scattering microfluidic chip

Recent Progress on Microfluidics Integrated with Fiber-Optic Sensors for On-Site Detection

This review introduces a micro-integrated device of microfluidics and fiber-optic sensors for on-site detection, which can detect certain or several specific components or their amounts in different samples within a relatively short time. Fiber-optics with micron core diameters can be easily coated and functionalized, thus allowing sensors to be integrated with microfluidics to separate, enrich, and measure samples in a micro-device. Compared to traditional laboratory equipment, this integrated device exhibits natural advantages in size, speed, cost, portability, and operability, making it more suitable for on-site detection. In this review, the various optical detection methods used in this integrated device are introduced, including Raman, ultraviolet-visible, fluorescence, and surface plasmon resonance detections. It also provides a detailed overview of the on-site detection applications of this integrated device for biological analysis, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Lastly, this review addresses the prospects for the future development of microfluidics integrated with fiber-optic sensors.

A dual-mode optical fiber sensor for SERS and fluorescence detection in liquid

The in vivo detection of biomarkers in a liquid environment is very important for the early diagnosis of diseases. Spectroscopy methods are employed in ultraviolet-visible-infrared wavelengths, fluorescence or Raman spectra are detected for clinical diagnose. The dual-mode image can provide more diagnostic information and has been realized in some research work. However, there is still lacking simple and sensitive dual-mode sensors to satisfy the in vivo detecting demands. In this paper, a dual-mode fiber sensor for Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and fluorescence detection is proposed. The sensor is formed by a tapered optical fiber, half of the fiber tip surface is coated with Ag nanoparticles. In the detection of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) aqueous solution, the minimum detectable concentrations in SERS and fluorescence tests are of the same order of magnitude. By combining the Raman spectral features and the fluorescence intensity, the recognition and quantitation of target molecules were obtained reliably. It is the first time, to our knowledge, that the Raman-fluorescence dual-mode detection is realized in one single fiber, which was manufactured with micro-machinery techniques. It is a label-free, general-purpose fiber sensor, which can be applied for liquid biopsy, helping to diagnose and treat diseases in vivo.

Femtosecond laser direct writing of a 3D microcantilever on the tip of an optical fiber sensor for on-chip optofluidic sensing

Real-time detection of the concentration of input fluid is essential for optofluidic sensing, especially in the case of biochips and organ-on-a-chip systems. In this paper, a microcantilever structure that enables temperature and liquid concentration sensing was fabricated on the tip of the optical fiber by femtosecond laser direct writing (two-photon polymerization, TPP) technology. An open Fabry-Pérot interferometer (F-P) structure was formed between the end of the optical fiber and the cantilever, so the sensor becomes quite sensitive to the localized temperature, concentration and refractive index of the target liquids. The reasonable size parameters of the cantilever were determined by structural stress analysis and interference spectrum analysis. By integrating the fiber sensor with a microfluidic chip, an on-chip optofluidic sensing platform is developed, which shows high sensitivities of the temperature (92.7 pm °C^-1), concentration (0.3287 nm (g L^-1)^-1), and refractive index (1385.819 nm RIU^-1). The reported optofluidic sensing platform demonstrates reasonably high stability and satisfactory sensing effect, holding great promise for applications in lab-on-a-chip systems.

All-fiber SERS sensing with a depressed double cladding fiber probe embedded in a microfluidic chip

A fiber surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe based on the depressed double cladding fiber (DDCF) is demonstrated. Due to the depressed cladding, the optical field distribution of the DDCF is more approachable to the outer surface than that of a no core fiber without depressed cladding, improving the excitation efficiency for generating Raman scattered light. The cladding diameter of the DDCF is only 80 µm, which is smaller than the core diameter (105 µm) of the input multimode fiber (MMF). This small cladding diameter ensures a well collection coupling from the DDCF to the MMF. The impact of the DDCF length on the performance of the probe is investigated. Raman spectra of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) are measured using the DDCF-based SERS probe, which is embedded in a microfluidic chip. The all-fiber optical path configuration realizes an all-fiber Raman detection system that is stable, portable, and convenient to operate. Such results confirm the applicability of the DDCF-based fiber probe in the all-fiber SERS detection area and indicate that the proposed SERS probe renders a new scheme for optimal design of the fiber SERS probe structure.