Flow Injection Small-volume Fiber-optic pH Sensor Based on Evanescent Wave Excitation and Fluorescence Determination

A small-volume fiber-optic pH sensor (FOEWS) based on evanescent wave excitation is developed and evaluated. The sensor is simply fabricated by inserting a decladded optical fiber into a transparent capillary tube. A microchannel between the optical fiber and the capillary inner wall was formed and acted as flow cell for solution flowing through. The pH-sensitive fluorophore of fluorescein can be excited by the evanescent wave field produced on the fiber core surface to produce emission fluorescence. pH value was then sensed by its enhancing effect on the emission fluorescence intensity. The response range of the sensor is from pH 2.09 to pH 8.85 and the linear range is from pH 3.25 to 8.85. The proposed sensor has a small detection volume of 2.5 μL and a short response time of 8 s. It has been applied to measure pH values of real water samples and was in good agreement with the results obtained by commercial pH meter.     

Surface structure monitoring with plastic optical fiber

A sensor was designed using a plastic optical fiber to study the potential of detecting structural deformities and corrosion of metallic surfaces, in particular for applications in constricted areas such as pipes. The principle of the sensor is based on the collection of scattered light reflected by the surface imperfections. Several types of metallic materials in various surface profiles and stages of corrosion have been studied. The sensor was able to determine the position of ridges on the surface and corroded regions in all cases evaluated in the study. A sensitivity of 100 mV/mm was detectable for proximity and a vertical resolution of 1 mm has been measured.     

How does ultrasonic cavitation remove dental bacterial biofilm?

Bacterial biofilm accumulation is problematic in many areas, leading to biofouling in the marine environment and the food industry, and infections in healthcare. Physical disruption of biofilms has become an important area of research. In dentistry, biofilm removal is essential to maintain health. The aim of this study is to observe biofilm disruption due to cavitation generated by a dental ultrasonic scaler (P5XS, Acteon) using a high speed camera and determine how this is achieved. Streptococcus sanguinis biofilm was grown on Thermanox™ coverslips (Nunc, USA) for 4 days. After fixing and staining with crystal violet, biofilm removal was imaged using a high speed camera (AX200, Photron). An ultrasonic scaler tip (tip 10P) was held 2 mm away from the biofilm and operated for 2 s. Bubble oscillations were observed from high speed image sequences and image analysis was used to track bubble motion and calculate changes in bubble radius and velocity on the surface. The results demonstrate that most of the biofilm disruption occurs through cavitation bubbles contacting the surface within 2 s, whether individually or in cavitation clouds. Cleaning occurs through shape oscillating microbubbles on the surface as well as through fluid flow.     

All-fiber optic acoustic sensor based on multimode-single mode-multimode structure

A simple and low cost optical fiber acoustic sensor based on multimode-single mode-multimode (MSM) fiber structure is presented. The optical coupling efficiency between hetero-core fibers spliced structure is modulated by acoustic pressure through a thin metal foil. Acoustic wave is detected by measuring the intensity change of transmission light. Experiments are carried on to testify the performance of MSM fiber acoustic sensor and the experimental results show that the acoustic wave can be sensitively detected within 11 kHz frequency range.     

Investigation of the performance of an SPR-based optical fiber sensor using finite-difference time domain

Finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method was used to investigate the performance of surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based optical fiber sensors. The results show that the performance of the fiber sensor can be optimized by choosing a proper combination of metal layer thickness of 40–60 nm and residual cladding thickness of 400–500 nm. Furthermore, the roughness effect of the gold surface layering the fiber sensor is significant in rough surfaces when sigma rms is greater than 5 nm or correlation length is lower than 100 nm.     

镀镍光纤Bragg光栅温度传感特性实验研究

在光纤智能金属结构材料中,为了保护光纤Bragg光栅并使得传感器与基体金属有很好的结合性,在光纤Bragg光栅表面化学镀镍,并实验研究了化学镀镍前后的光纤Bragg光栅的温度传感特性.实验表明：镀镍后的光纤光栅的Bragg波长随温度变化呈现出良好的线性和重复性,Bragg光栅温度灵敏度变大.     

Long-gauge length embedded fiber optic ultrasonic sensor for large-scale concrete structures

A fiber optic ultrasonic sensor based on Fizeau interferometer has been developed and demonstrated. A helium–neon laser light source with wavelength 0.6328 μm is used in our experiment. A special feature is its Fizeau configuration, which enables one to eliminate much undesirable noise by combining both the reference arm and the sensing arm within the same length of fiber. The dynamic response model of photo-elastic effect of ultrasonic wave and optical fiber is established. The fiber optic ultrasonic sensor experimental results are obtained and compared with the convenient PZT transducer.     

基于荧光淬灭原理的光纤氧传感器的实验研究

基于荧光淬灭原理的光纤氧传感器一直是许多研究工作的重点。介绍了一种制作简单、成本低的光纤氧传感器制造方法。该方法基于荧光淬灭原理，在光纤末端涂覆荧光材料铂八乙基卟啉(PtOEP)实现的。传感器中荧光材料被395nm的紫光激发，并由Y形光纤引导，使用广州犀谱光电USB2000+光谱仪记录荧光的发光强度时序图。最后得到的PtOEP的(I₀/I₁₀₀)-1的值为0.78，即光纤氧传感器的灵敏度为0.78，而且，斯特恩-沃尔默(Stern-Volmer)图显示出很好的线性特性。从氧气到空气环境的响应时间为24 s，从空气环境到氧气的响应时间是5 s。结果表明，基于荧光淬灭原理的光纤氧传感器具有较高的灵敏度和更快的响应时间。     

Low power gas discharge plasma mediated inactivation and removal of biofilms formed on biomaterials

The antibacterial activity of gas discharge plasma has been studied for quiet some time. However, high biofilm inactivation activity of plasma was only recently reported. Studies indicate that the etching effect associated with plasmas generated represent an undesired effect, which may cause live bacteria relocation and thus contamination spreading. Meanwhile, the strong etching effects from these high power plasmas may also alter the surface chemistry and affect the biocompatibility of biomaterials. In this study, we examined the efficiency and effectiveness of low power gas discharge plasma for biofilm inactivation and removal. Among the three tested gases, oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, discharge oxygen demonstrated the best anti-biofilm activity because of its excellent ability in killing bacteria in biofilms and mild etching effects. Low power discharge oxygen completely killed and then removed the dead bacteria from attached surface but had negligible effects on the biocompatibility of materials. DNA left on the regenerated surface after removal of biofilms did not have any negative impact on tissue cell growth. On the contrary, dramatically increased growth was found for these cells seeded on regenerated surfaces. These results demonstrate the potential applications of low power discharge oxygen in biofilm treatments of biomaterials and indwelling device decontaminations.     

Growth of ZnO nanodisk, nanospindles and nanoflowers for gas sensor: pH dependency

Suitable morphology for fast electron transportation is a crucial requirement for the fabrication of gas sensor application. Highly oriented and well defined zinc oxide (ZnO) nano/micro-scale structures are grown on the glass substrates using aqueous chemical route. The grown nanostructures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical absorption techniques. The SEM micrographs revealed the formation of disk, rod, spindle and flower-like morphologies at different pH values ranging from 5 to 10. The grown nanostructures were employed for acetone gas-sensing measurement. It is observed that the sensors based on nanoflowers showed higher response (95%) for acetone gas at 325 °C. The high acetone gas sensitivity of ZnO nanoflowers can be attributed to the surface morphology. Moreover, nanoflower-like structure exhibits the fast response and recovery.     

Temperature-independent optical fiber Fabry–Perot refractive-index sensor based on hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

A novel optical fiber refractive index (RI) sensor, which is based on an intrinsic Fabry–Perot interferometer (IFPI) formed by a section of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HCPCF) and standard single mode fibers (SMF), is proposed. The external refractive index is determined according to the maximum fringe contrast of the interference fringes in the reflective spectrum of the sensor. The RI response performance is demonstrated for the measurement of the different RI solutions. The experimental data agree well with the theoretical results. Also the RI resolution and repeatability of ∼1.5 × 10⁻⁵ and ±0.5% in the linear measurement region, are achieved. In addition, the temperature response is tested from 20 °C to 120 °C, which exhibits excellent thermal stability. Therefore, such an HCPCF-based F–P sensor provides a practical way to measure RI with non-temperature compensation.     

Prevention of biofilm re‐development on Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy by cometary discharge with a metallic grid

The influence of a non‐thermal plasma (NTP) on the gram‐negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the gram‐positive bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis, and the yeast Candida albicans grown on agar or in the biofilm form was compared. NTP was produced by a DC cometary discharge. The biofilms were grown on the surface of Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy often used in the manufacture of prosthetic implants. The exposure by NTP not only inhibited the surface growth of microorganisms in agar cultures but also significantly suppressed the viability of bacteria and yeast in biofilms and prevented its re‐developed from persistent cells remaining in the lower layers of the biofilm. An almost complete prevention of biofilm re‐development was achieved in the case of S. epidermidis; other microorganisms displayed substantial lowering of biofilm biomass and its metabolic activity.     

用Bragg光纤测量气体浓度

基于气体的光谱吸收特性,本文提出了一种采用Bragg空芯光纤作为吸收池的新型光纤气体传感器.运用解析法和微扰分析法求解了Bragg空芯光纤中的相对灵敏系数.由于场分布主要集中在芯区,对气体损耗较为敏感,因此,这种光纤气体传感器具有灵敏度高、快速响应、结构简单的特点.耦合多个波长可实现对多种气体同时测量.     

金膜与银膜光纤SPR传感器

不同的金属传感层对光纤SPR传感器的特性有着重要的影响.根据该传感器的理论公式,计算了金膜、银膜传感器的输出光谱,并与实验结果进行了比较.结果表明,银膜光纤SPR传感器的理论输出光谱和实验检测光谱吻合很好,而金膜吻合较差.分析了出现这种偏差的原因.     

Numerical simulation of wavelength-modulated surface plasmon resonance-based fiber optic sensor

A systematically theoretical analysis of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based optical fiber sensor is carried out. A three-layer mode (fiber core/gold/sample) is used to simulate the SPR-based optical fiber sensor. Several parameters including the thickness of gold layer, numerical aperture (NA) of fiber, sensing region length and fiber core diameter have been investigated to evaluate the sensitivity and measurement accuracy of sensor. A detailed explanation for the effect of these parameters on the sensor is presented to give a guideline to optimally design the SPR-based optical fiber sensor.     

利用光纤传感器测定金属的线胀系数

将反射式光纤位移传感器应用于固体线膨胀系数测定仪,可以较精确地测定金属线胀系数.     

TOF-SIMS imaging of chlorhexidine-digluconate transport in frozen hydrated biofilms of the fungus Candida albicans

The diffusion of the anti-microbial chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) has been studied in C. albicans biofilms by time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). C. albicans has been shown to become resistant to common anti-microbial agents, including CHG, when growing as a biofilm. Mass transport resistance within biofilms has commonly been suggested as a resistance mechanism, but measurement of transport for most anti-microbial agents in biofilms has proven extremely difficult because of the heterogeneity of the biofilms and the difficulty in detecting these agents within an intact biofilm. In this study, TOF-SIMS has been used to study the transport of CHG and glucose in a frozen hydrated biofilm. The TOF-SIMS images reveal a progression of CHG from the top of the biofilm to its base with time. Images suggest that there are channels within the biofilm and show preferential binding of CHG to cellular components of the biofilm. Additionally, both living and dead cells can be identified in the TOF-SIMS images by the sequestration of K⁺ and the presence of cell markers. This study demonstrates that TOF-SIMS has the unique potential to simultaneously observe the presence of an antimicrobial agent, concentration of nutrients, and the viability of the cell population.     

Performances of different metals in optical fibre-based surface plasmon resonance sensor

The capability of various metals used in optical fibre-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing is studied theoretically. Four metals, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and aluminium (Al) are considered for the present study. The performance of the optical fibre-based SPR sensor with four different metals is obtained numerically and compared in detail. The performance of optical fibre-based SPR sensor has been analysed in terms of sensitivity, signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and quality parameter. It is found that the performance of optical fibre-based SPR sensor with Au metal is better than that of the other three metals. The sensitivity of the optical fibre-based SPR sensor with 50 nm thick and 10 mm long Au metal film of exposed sensing region is 2.373 μm/RIU with good linearity, SNR is 0.724 and quality parameter is 48.281 RIU^− 1. The thickness of the metal film and the length of the exposed sensing region of the optical fibre-based SPR sensor for each metal are also optimized.     

Properties of a gold-deposited surface plasmon resonance-based glass rod sensor with various light-emitting diodes and its application to a refractometer

The performance of a simple sensor system prepared using gold (Au)-deposited glass rods of 1 to 4 mm in diameter with a deposition length of 100 mm based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is presented. The sensor properties of the Au-deposited glass rods of 2 mm in diameter with deposition lengths of 10 to 100 mm are also presented. The sensor system consists of a light-emitting diode (LED) as the light source and a photodiode (PD) as the detector. The response curves and sensor properties of the Au-deposited glass rod with a Au film thickness of 45 nm obtained by using three LEDs with yellowish green (563 nm), red (660 nm), and infrared (940 nm) emissions were investigated. The results were compared with those of a corresponding Au-deposited optical fiber sensor with a core diameter of 0.2 mm. Though the sensitivity, response, and detection limit of the Au-deposited glass rod sensor are lower than those of the optical fiber sensor, the fabrication and handling of the Au-deposited glass rod sensor are easier because of the robustness. Since the dielectric constant of Au changes with the light wavelength, the sensor properties of both the Au-deposited glass rod sensor and the optical fiber sensor depend strongly on the wavelength of the incident light and can be controlled by changing the LED emission wavelength. This sensor system is a new SPR-based refractometer with easy construction and operation. Ethanol concentrations in various spirits were measured with this SPR-based refractometer and the results agreed well with those measured with an Abbe refractometer.     

Water wave frequency detection by optical fiber sensor

An optical fiber sensor has been developed and applied to measure frequency of water waves based on wave induced polarization change of the light. The fiber sensor can accurately detect water wave frequency for regular and irregular waves. The optimum sag of sensing fiber to the sensor output’s linearity has been studied. The agreement of the fiber sensor and wave gauge in frequency and time domain suggests that the fiber sensor has great potential for passive acoustic sensing and wave monitoring.