Enabling magnetic resonance imaging of hollow-core microstructured optical fibers via nanocomposite coating.

Optical fibers are widely used in bioimaging systems as flexible endoscopes that are capable of low-invasive penetration inside hollow tissue cavities. Here, we report on the technique that allows magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of hollow-core microstructured fibers (HC-MFs), which paves the way for combing MRI and optical bioimaging. Our approach is based on layer-by-layer assembly of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes and magnetite nanoparticles on the inner core surface of HC-MFs. Incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles into polyelectrolyte layers renders HC-MFs visible for MRI and induces the red-shift in their transmission spectra. Specifically, the transmission shifts up to 60 nm have been revealed for the several-layers composite coating, along with the high-quality contrast of HC-MFs in MRI scans. Our results shed light on marrying fiber-based endoscopy with MRI to open novel possibilities for minimally invasive clinical diagnostics and surgical procedures in vivo.

Microstructured Optical Waveguide-Based Endoscopic Probe Coated with Silica Submicron Particles.

Microstructured optical waveguides (MOW) are of great interest for chemical and biological sensing. Due to the high overlap between a guiding light mode and an analyte filling of one or several fiber capillaries, such systems are able to provide strong sensitivity with respect to variations in the refractive index and the thickness of filling materials. Here, we introduce a novel type of functionalized MOWs whose capillaries are coated by a layer-by-layer (LBL) approach, enabling the alternate deposition of silica particles (SiO2) at different diameters-300 nm, 420 nm, and 900 nm-and layers of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). We demonstrate up to three covering bilayers consisting of 300-nm silica particles. Modifications in the MOW transmission spectrum induced by coating are measured and analyzed. The proposed technique of MOW functionalization allows one to reach novel sensing capabilities, including an increase in the effective sensing area and the provision of a convenient scaffold for the attachment of long molecules such as proteins.

Microstructured optical fiber-based luminescent biosensing: Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? - A review.

This review covers the current state of the art of luminescent biosensors based on various types of microstructured optical fiber. The unique optical and structural properties of this type of optical fiber make them one of the most promising integrated platforms for bioassays. The individual sections of this review are devoted to a) classification of microstructured optical fibers, b) microstructured optical fiber materials, c) aspects of biosensing based on the biomolecules incorporated into the microstructured optical fibers, and d) development of models for prediction of the efficiency of luminescent signal processing. The authors' views on current trends and limitations of microstructured optical fibers for biosensing as well as the most promising areas and technologies for application in analytical practice are presented.

Microstructured Waveguides with Polyelectrolyte-Stabilized Gold Nanostars for SERS Sensing of Dissolved Analytes.

A sensor based on microstructured waveguides (MWGs) with a hollow core inner surface covered with polyelectrolyte-layer-stabilized gold nanostars was developed for the SERS sensing of dissolved analytes. A polyelectrolyte-layer coating over the inner surface of glass cladding served as a spacer, reducing nonlinear optical effects in the glass near plasmonic hotspots of nanoparticles, as a stabilizing agent for thermodynamically unstable gold nanostars and as an optical coating for the fine-tuning of MWG bandgaps. This approach can be used to construct different kinds of SERS sensors for dissolved analytes, providing conservation, the prevention of coagulation, and the drying of a liquid sample for the time required to record the signal.

Blood typing using microstructured waveguide smart cuvette.

We introduce a sensitive method that allows one to distinguish positive and negative agglutination reactions used for blood typing and determination of Rh affinity with a high precision. The method is based on the unique properties of photonic crystal waveguides, i.e., microstructured waveguides (MSWs). The transmission spectrum of an MSW smart cuvette filled by a specific or nonspecific agglutinating serum depends on the scattering, refractive, and absorptive properties of the blood probe. This concept was proven in the course of a laboratory clinical study. The obtained ratio of the spectral-based discrimination parameter for positive and negative reactions (I+/I-) was found to be 16 for standard analysis and around 2 for used sera with a weak activity.