A Review: Application and Implementation of Optic Fibre Sensors for Gas Detection.

At the present time, there are major concerns regarding global warming and the possible catastrophic influence of greenhouse gases on climate change has spurred the research community to investigate and develop new gas-sensing methods and devices for remote and continuous sensing. Furthermore, there are a myriad of workplaces, such as petrochemical and pharmacological industries, where reliable remote gas tests are needed so that operatives have a safe working environment. The authors have concentrated their efforts on optical fibre sensing of gases, as we became aware of their increasing range of applications. Optical fibre gas sensors are capable of remote sensing, working in various environments, and have the potential to outperform conventional metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors. Researchers are studying a number of configurations and mechanisms to detect specific gases and ways to enhance their performances. Evidence is growing that optical fibre gas sensors are superior in a number of ways, and are likely to replace MOS gas sensors in some application areas. All sensors use a transducer to produce chemical selectivity by means of an overlay coating material that yields a binding reaction. A number of different structural designs have been, and are, under investigation. Examples include tilted Bragg gratings and long period gratings embedded in optical fibres, as well as surface plasmon resonance and intra-cavity absorption. The authors believe that a review of optical fibre gas sensing is now timely and appropriate, as it will assist current researchers and encourage research into new photonic methods and techniques.

An ultra-sensitive aptasensor on optical fibre for the direct detection of bisphenol A.

We present a plasmonic biosensor capable of detecting the presence of bisphenol A in ultra-low concentrations, yielding a wavelength shift of 0.15 ±â€¯0.01 nm in response to a solution of 1 fM concentration with limit of detection of 330 ±â€¯70 aM The biosensing device consists of an array of gold nano-antennae with a total length of 2.3 cm that generate coupled localised surface plasmons (cLSPs) and is covalently modified with an aptamer specific for bisphenol A recognition. The array of nano-antennae is fabricated on a lapped section of standard telecommunication optical fibre, allowing for potential multiplexing and its use in remote sensing applications. These results have been achieved without the use of enhancement techniques and therefore the approach allows the direct detection of bisphenol A, a low molecular weight (228 Da) target usually detectable only by indirect detection strategies. Its detection at such levels is a significant step forward in measuring small molecules at ultra-low concentrations. Furthermore, this new sensing platform paves the way for the development of portable systems for in-situ agricultural measurements capable of retrieving data on a substance of very high concern at ultra-low concentrations.