Fluorescent Bulk Waveguide Sensor in Porous Glass: Concept, Fabrication, and Testing

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles in Chemical Detection: From Small Species to Large Bio-Molecules

A recompilation of applications of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in sensing from the last five years is presented. Its high potential, especially as hybrid materials combined with organic or bio-molecules, is shown. Adding to the multiplying effect of loading high amounts of the transducer into the pores, the selectivity attained by the interaction of the analyte with the layer decorating the material is described. Examples of the different methodologies are presented.

Simultaneous Absorbance and Fluorescence Measurements Using an Inlaid Microfluidic Approach

A novel microfluidic optical cell is presented that enables simultaneous measurement of both light absorbance and fluorescence on microlitre volumes of fluid. The chip design is based on an inlaid fabrication technique using clear and opaque poly(methyl methacrylate) or PMMA to create a 20.2 mm long optical cell. The inlaid approach allows fluid interrogation with minimal interference from external light over centimeter long path lengths. The performance of the optical cell is evaluated using a stable fluorescent dye: rhodamine B. Excellent linear relationships (R² > 0.99) are found for both absorbance and fluorescence over a 0.1-10 µM concentration range. Furthermore, the molar attenuation spectrum is accurately measured over the range 460-550 nm. The approach presented here is applicable to numerous colorimetric- or fluorescence-based assays and presents an important step in the development of multipurpose lab-on-chip sensors.

All Silica Micro-Fluidic Flow Injection Sensor System for Colorimetric Chemical Sensing

This paper presents a miniature, all-silica, flow-injection sensor. The sensor consists of an optical fiber-coupled microcell for spectral absorption measurements and a microfluidic reagent injection system. The proposed sensor operates in back reflection mode and, with its compact dimensions, (no more than 200 µm in diameter) enables operation in small spaces and at very low flow rates of analyte and reagent, thus allowing for on-line or in-line colorimetric chemical sensing.

Optical Sensitivity of Waveguides Inscribed in Nanoporous Silicate Framework

Laser direct writing technique in glass is a powerful tool for various waveguides' fabrication that highly develop the element base for designing photonic devices. We apply this technique to fabricate waveguides in porous glass (PG). Nanoporous optical materials for the inscription can elevate the sensing ability of such waveguides to higher standards. The waveguides were fabricated by a single-scan approach with femtosecond laser pulses in the densification mode, which resulted in the formation of a core and cladding. Experimental studies revealed three types of waveguides and quantified the refractive index contrast (up to Δn = 1.2·10^-2) accompanied with ~1.2 dB/cm insertion losses. The waveguides demonstrated the sensitivity to small objects captured by the nanoporous framework. We noticed that the deposited ethanol molecules (3 µL) on the PG surface influence the waveguide optical properties indicating the penetration of the molecule to its cladding. Continuous monitoring of the output near field intensity distribution allowed us to determine the response time (6 s) of the waveguide buried at 400 µm below the glass surface. We found that the minimum distinguishable change of the refractive index contrast is 2 × 10^-4. The results obtained pave the way to consider the waveguides inscribed into PG as primary transducers for sensor applications.