Liquid-Core Microstructured Polymer Optical Fiber as Fiber-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Probe for Glucose Sensing

Abstract

This work reports the development and application of two liquid-core microstructured polymer optical fibers (LC-mPOF) with different microstructure sizes. They are used in a fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensing platform, with the aim of detecting glucose in aqueous solutions in the clinically relevant range for sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor therapy. The sensing platform is tested for low-concentration glucose solutions using each LC-mPOF. Results confirm that a significant enhancement of the Raman signal is achieved in comparison to conventional Raman spectroscopy. Additional measurements are carried out to obtain the valid measurement range, the resolution, and the limit of detection, showing that the LC-mPOF with 66-µm-diameter central hollow core has the highest potential for future clinical applications. Finally, preliminary tests successfully demonstrate glucose identification in urine. Index Terms-Fiber enhanced Raman spectroscopy, glucose sensing, hollow-core microstructured polymer optical fibers. I. INTRODUCTION A CCORDING to the World Health Organization, approximately 150 million people are suffering from diabetes mellitus worldwide. It is estimated that this number may well Manuscript

Recent advances in nano-photonic techniques for pharmaceutical drug monitoring with emphasis on Raman spectroscopy

“…Recently, Azkune et al reported about a micro-structured polymer hollow-core optical fiber (POF) system ( Figure 9B) that was used for glucose sensing [102]. This FERS platform could perspectively be used for TDM of the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors in the therapy of diabetes mellitus.…”

“…This FERS platform could perspectively be used for TDM of the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors in the therapy of diabetes mellitus. Through careful preparation of the fiber and additional steps in data processing and analysis, glucose sensing in urine could be demonstrated via POF-FERS [102].…”

“…Recent advances demonstrate the potential of FERS for TDM of antibiotics [97,98,101]. Different types of micro-and nano-structured sensor fibers, such as HC-PCFs [97,98] and airclad fibers [101,102], are developed, and their potential for clinical applications is explored. The first step towards clinical application was recently taken, as a selectively filled airclad fiber was used for the monitoring of the antibiotic cefuroxime in human urine [101].…”

“…The inset shows a microscope image of the upper end face of the micro-structured polymer hollow-core optical fiber. Adapted from Yan et al[107] (A) and from Azkune et al[102] (B), reproduced with the kind permission of the American Chemical Society, Copyright (2018) American Chemical Society (A) and IEEE (B).…”

The impact of ZnO configuration as an external layer on the sensitivity of a bi-layer coated polymer optical fiber probe

“…To overcome this problem polymer optical ber (POF), which has higher exibility, higher fracture toughness, and is more economical is employed for sensor fabrication. [16][17][18][19] Recently, nanocoating of ber probes because of the enhancement of sensitivity and improvement of the dynamic range, robustness and lifetime, has inspired a line of research in the eld of optical ber sensors. [20][21][22][23] These improvements are achieved because the nanostructure coating can provide additional mesoporosity, roughness, antibacterial behavior, localized surface plasmon resonances and quantum connement effects to the bare ber.…”