We have experimentally demonstrated a cation and anion sensor by using short linear photonic crystal microcavities with an embedded quantum dot active region. The photonic crystal microcavity covered with an ion-selective polymer forms a submicrometer optical detection system sensitive to small changes of perchlorate anion (ClO4(-)) and calcium cation (Ca2+) concentrations.
A fluoride-selective optical sensor based on scandium(III)-octaethylporphyrin (Sc(III)OEP) as an ionophore within a plasticized PVC film is described. The presence of fluoride ion in the aqueous sample phase increases the formation of a difluoro-bridged Sc(III)OEP dimer species in the polymer film. The ability of the Sc(III) porphyrin to form the dimeric structure in the presence of fluoride is confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. For more practical sensing applications, a pH chromoionophore (ETH 7075) is added to the plasticized PVC film along with Sc(III)OEP and the observed optical response is based on coextraction of protons with sample phase fluoride to create the dimeric porphyrin and a protonated chromoionophore species. The selectivity pattern observed is F- >> ClO4(-), SCN-, NO3(-) > Br-, Cl-. Only organic salicylate is a significant interferent. Fast and reversible fluoride response is observed over the range of 10(-4) to 10(-2) M fluoride, allowing use of the sensing film in a waveguide configuration for flow-injection measurements.
Contamination of heparin with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS) became a matter of grave concern in the medical field after many fatal responses to OSCS tainted heparin products occurred during the 2007 – 2008 period. Even though standard lab-based analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and strong anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography (SAX-HPLC) have proven useful for monitoring the OSCS content in heparin products, an easy-to-use, quick, portable, and cost-efficient method is still needed for on-site monitoring during and after the heparin production. In this report, a disposable strip-type electrochemical polyion sensor is described for detection of low levels of OSCS contamination in heparin. A magnetic actuator is incorporated into this simple electrode-based microfluidic device in order to create the mixing effect necessary to achieve equilibrium potential changes of the sensor within a microfluidic channel. The planar membrane electrode detector within the sample channel is prepared with a tridodecylmethylammonium chloride (TDMAC)-doped PVC membrane essentially equivalent to previously reported polyanion-sensitive electrodes. When the concentration of heparin applied to the single-use strip device is 57 mg/mL (in only 20 μl of sample), the same concentration recommended in the NMR analysis protocol for detecting OSCS in heparin, the detection limit is 0.005 wt% of OSCS, which is ca. 20 times lower than the reported detection limit of the NMR method.
A scandium(III) porphyrin-based fluoride-selective potentiometric sensor and its application in the analysis of hydrofluoric acid is described. Scandium(III) octaethylporphyrin, an ionophore recently developed for the optical fluoride sensor, was employed as a host molecule for the selective binding with fluoride in the plasticized PVC membrane. Nernstian response for F -between 10 -4.6 to 10 -1 M was observed at a glycine-phosphate buffer (pH 3.0). The selectivity pattern was observed as F-, which is consistent with the binding constant data measured in the plasticized PVC membrane based on a sandwich membrane method. This highly selective and reversible fluoride-sensitive electrode was employed for the analysis of hydrofluoric acid (HF). A disposable differential-type HF sensor was fabricated on the screen-printed electrode and demonstrated its ability to detect the neutral HF in the acidic solution.
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