Strong light-matter interaction in hollow-core microfiber for multiplex sensing of environmental hazards

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol. 371; p. 132613
• Main Authors: Guo, Xiaoyan, Zhang, Xin, Liu, Zihao, Dong, Zihan, Xia, Zhiwen, Meng, Xiaotong, Wang, Pu, Wang, Xiuhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 15.11.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Antibiotics; Broadband; Computer networks; Cost analysis; Data transmission; Enhanced sensitivity; Fluorescence; Graphene; Hollow-core anti-resonant optical fiber; Microfibers; Multiplexed quantitative analysis; Multiplexing; Sensitivity enhancement; Strong light-matter interaction; Wave attenuation; Wavelengths; Enhanced sensitivity; Multiplexed quantitative analysis; Strong light-matter interaction; Hollow-core anti-resonant optical fiber
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2022.132613

Hollow-core fibers with special micro-geometry have been heralded for years as a supreme medium for data transmission, quantum communications and laser power delivery, owing to their low loss in the air-guiding structure. The recent advances of non-touching hollow core anti-resonant fiber (HARF) have further minimized the loss and improved the modal properties. Here we exploit biochemical sensing performance of HARF. We address hybridization of state-of-the-art HARF with graphene oxide (GO) to achieve strong light-matter interaction and enable ultrasensitive and simultaneous quantification of multiple hazardous antibiotics in environmental samples. The GO-HARF shows a strict light confinement in the core region with 8 dB/km attenuation at 600 nm wavelength via numerical simulation. The broadband transmission (400–1000 nm) of GO-HARF allows simultaneous fluorescence signal acquisition at multiple wavelengths. The operating principle relies on detecting dose-dependent fluorescence changes in GO-HARF when an antibiotics complex is streamed through the fiber channel. Over three-orders-of-magnitude enhancement of sensitivity is achieved with the GO-HARF sensor compared with the limit of detection (LoD) of a microplate reader. GO-HARF offers a unique opportunity to measure picomolar analytes at multiplexed wavelengths in the visible spectral range, holding great potential for fast-response, ultrasensitive and low-cost biomedical analyses. [Display omitted] •Fiber enhanced light-matter interaction allows striking amplification of signal.•Limit of detection (LoD) is improved by three orders of magnitude.•Broadband light transmission enables simultaneous detection of multiple analytes.•Effective demonstration of antibiotics detection in environmental water and blood samples.