Saturday, June 2, 2012

Fiber Optic Sensor for Fluorescence-Lifetime-Based pH Measurements


In a research paper published in March (2012), it was discussed that Quasi-distributed optical fiber sensor arrays containing luminescent sensor molecules can be read out spatially resolved utilizing optical time-of-flight detection (OTOFD) methods, which employ pulsed laser interrogation of the luminosensors and time-resolved detection of the sensor signals.

In many cases, sensing is based on a change in sensor luminescence intensity; however, sensing based on luminescence lifetime changes is preferable because it reduces the need for field calibration. Because in OTOFD detection is time-resolved, luminescence-lifetime information is already available through the signal pulses, although in practice applications were restricted to sensors with long luminescence lifetimes (hundreds of ns).

To implement lifetime-based sensing in crossed-optical-fiber-sensor arrays for sensor molecules with lifetimes less than 10 ns, two time-domain methods, time-correlated single photon counting and stroboscopic detection, were used to record the pH-dependent emission of a fluorescein derivative covalently attached to a highly porous polymer.

A two-term nonexponential decay function yielded both a good fit for experimental lifetime data during reconvolution and a pH response that matches Henderson–Hasselbalch behavior, yielding a sensor accuracy of 0.02 pH units. Moreover, strong agreement was obtained for the two lifetime determination methods and with intensity-based measurements taken previously.


(Source: Application of time-correlated single photon counting and stroboscopic detection methods with an evanescent-wave fibre-optic sensor for fluorescence-lifetime-based pH measurements; Measurement Science and Technology Volume 23 Number 4; Paul E Henning and Peter Geissinger 2012 Meas. Sci. Technol. 23 045104 doi:10.1088/0957-0233/23/4/045104)




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