The objective of this study is to present an optical chemical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance(SPR) in a plastic optical fiber (POF) for the selective detection and analysis of trinitrotoluene (TNT) inaqueous solution.The fabricated optical chemical sensor was realized removing the cladding of a plastic optical fiberalong half the circumference, spin coating on the exposed core a buffer of Microposit S1813 photoresist,and finally sputtering a thin gold film. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film was, then, depositedon the thin gold film to allow the selective detection of TNT. The film was a methacrylic acid-divinylbenzene copolymer obtained by radicalic polymerization at high temperature.The experimental results show that the use of MIP layer is suitable for highly selective detection ofTNT, down to about 50 M (i.e. ∼11 g/ml). This shows that the direct detection of a low molecular masssubstance is possible by SPR transduction, even at low concentration. Furthermore, the proposed sensinghead is low cost and relatively easy to realize, and may be very attractive for the detection and analysisof trinitrotoluene (TNT), in particular considering that it does not involve the use of any electrical devicesand it can be used for remote/online monitoring exploiting, f.i., a fiber optic link.
Sensors based on surface plasmon resonance in a plastic optical fiber for the detection of trinitrotoluene
Cennamo N;ZENI, Luigi
2013
Abstract
The objective of this study is to present an optical chemical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance(SPR) in a plastic optical fiber (POF) for the selective detection and analysis of trinitrotoluene (TNT) inaqueous solution.The fabricated optical chemical sensor was realized removing the cladding of a plastic optical fiberalong half the circumference, spin coating on the exposed core a buffer of Microposit S1813 photoresist,and finally sputtering a thin gold film. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film was, then, depositedon the thin gold film to allow the selective detection of TNT. The film was a methacrylic acid-divinylbenzene copolymer obtained by radicalic polymerization at high temperature.The experimental results show that the use of MIP layer is suitable for highly selective detection ofTNT, down to about 50 M (i.e. ∼11 g/ml). This shows that the direct detection of a low molecular masssubstance is possible by SPR transduction, even at low concentration. Furthermore, the proposed sensinghead is low cost and relatively easy to realize, and may be very attractive for the detection and analysisof trinitrotoluene (TNT), in particular considering that it does not involve the use of any electrical devicesand it can be used for remote/online monitoring exploiting, f.i., a fiber optic link.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
