A New Approach for the Spectroscopic Detection of Different pH-Values

Abstract

The objective of the present work was the development of a micro-pH meter for the determination of the pH value within bioreactors with a volume of up to 200 μl in total. Two different prototypes of optodes were designed and tested. In a first approach spectroscopic analysis of bromothymol blue in a micro-sized-channel structure was carried out utilizing glass fibers, enabling measurements in sample volumes down to the range of picoliters. In a second approach a different illumination system consisting of a RGB-sensor and a LED light source was used. Phenol red was successfully applied as the pH indicator for this setup.