Surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic glucose biosensor

Abstract

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based fiber optic biosensor has been fabricated and characterized for the detection of blood glucose. Optical fiber sensor was fabricated by first coating a 50 nm thick gold film on the bare core of optical fiber and then immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) over it. Aqueous glucose solutions of different concentrations were prepared. To mimic the blood glucose levels, the concentration of glucose solutions were kept equal to that in human blood. The refractive indices of these sample solutions were equal to that of water up to third decimal place. SPR spectra for the sensor were recorded for these glucose solutions. When the glucose comes in contact to glucose oxidase, chemical reactions take place and as a result, the refractive index of the immobilized GOx film changes, giving rise to a shift in the resonance wavelength. Unlike electrochemical sensors, the present sensor is based on optics and can be miniaturized because of optical fiber. The present study provides a different approach for blood glucose sensing and may be commercialized after optimization of certain parameters.