Since the first application of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon for sensing almost two decades ago, this method has made great strides both in terms of instrumentation development and applications. SPR sensor technology has been commercialized and SPR biosensors have become a central tool for characterizing and quantifying biomolecular interactions. This paper attempts to review the major developments in SPR technology. Main application areas are outlined and examples of applications of SPR sensor technology are presented. Future prospects of SPR sensor technology are discussed.

Surface plasmon resonance sensors: review

Since the introduction of optical fiber technology in the field of sensor based on the technique of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), fiber-optic SPR sensors have witnessed a lot of advancements. This paper reports on the past, present, and future scope of fiber-optic SPR sensors in the field of sensing of different chemical, physical, and biochemical parameters. A detailed mechanism of the SPR technique for sensing purposes has been discussed. Different new techniques and models in this area that have been introduced are discussed in quite a detail. We have tried to put the different advancements in the order of their chronological evolution. The content of the review article may be of great importance for the research community who are to take the field of fiber-optic SPR sensors as its research endeavors.

Fiber-Optic Sensors Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance: A Comprehensive Review

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing using colloidal Au enhancement is reported. Immobilization of ∼11-nm-diameter colloidal Au to an evaporated Au film results in a large shift in plasmon angle, a broadened plasmon resonance, and an increase in minimum reflectance. The incorporation of colloidal Au into SPR biosensing results in increased SPR sensitivity to protein−protein interactions when a Au film-immobilized antibody and an antigen−colloidal Au conjugate comprise the binding pair. A highly specific particle-enhanced analogue of a sandwich immunoassay is also demonstrated by complexing the Au particle to a secondary antibody. A tremendous signal amplification is observed, as addition of the antibody−Au colloid conjugate results in a 25-fold larger signal than that due to addition of a free antibody solution that is 6 orders of magnitude more concentrated. Picomolar detection of human immunoglobulin G has been realized using particle enhancement, with the theoretical limits for the technique bein...

Colloidal Au-enhanced surface plasmon resonance immunosensing.

The development of highly-sensitive miniaturized sensors that allow real-time quantification of analytes is highly desirable in medical diagnostics, veterinary testing, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Photonic Crystal Fiber Surface Plasmon Resonance (PCF SPR) has emerged as a highly-sensitive portable sensing technology for testing chemical and biological analytes. PCF SPR sensing combines the advantages of PCF technology and plasmonics to accurately control the evanescent field and light propagation properties in single or multimode configurations. This review discusses fundamentals and fabrication of fiber optic technologies incorporating plasmonic coatings to rationally design, optimize and construct PCF SPR sensors as compared to conventional SPR sensing. PCF SPR sensors with selective metal coatings of fibers, silver nanowires, slotted patterns, and D-shaped structures for internal and external microfluidic flows are reviewed. This review also includes potential applications of PCF SPR sensors, identifies perceived limitations, challenges to scaling up, and provides future directions for their commercial realization.

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Photonic crystal fiber based plasmonic sensors

The influence of colloid diameter on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) response of a colloidal Au modified Au film is described. Adsorption of 30−59 nm diameter colloidal Au on the surface of a 4...

Surface plasmon resonance of au colloid-modified au films : particle size dependence

A miniaturized fibre optical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy is investigated in view of the detection of organic solvent vapours, particularly tetrachloroethene. Surface plasmons are excited on a silver coated multimode fibre by polychromatic light, and the resonant excitation is detected as a resonant absorption band in the measured output spectrum. When the analyte is absorbed in a thin gas-sensitive polysiloxane film deposited on the silver layer the polymer film changes its thickness and its refractive index. These changes result in a wavelength shift of the resonant curve depending on the analyte gas concentration. Theoretical considerations about the sensing effect are made and resonance curves were computer-simulated. Based on these simulations the layout of all sensor parameters was optimized. The sensor shows an excellent response to tetrachloroethene with a response time of two seconds and high reproducibility. When using self-assembling monolayers on the silver surface a long-term stability of more than 3 months can be obtained. Very low cross sensitivities of less than 1% to other solvent vapours like acetone and ethanol are obtained, furthermore, the influence of humidity is very low. This miniaturized fibre optical sensor in combination with an easy-to-handle and non-sophisticated measuring and evaluation unit is excellently suitable for the remote sensing of special organic solvent vapours.

Remote sensing of tetrachloroethene with a micro-fibre optical gas sensor based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

In this paper the theoretical base and experimental results of a new class of fiber optical supported surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPRS) transducer is given. Surface plasmons were excited by polychromatic light, and the resonant excitation is detected as an intensity minimum in the measured spectra at certain wavelengths. The excitation takes place at the end zone of a multimode fiber coated with a thin surface plasmon resonance supporting metal layer. As examples for the large application field of this transducer a fiber optical immunosensor for the detection of antibodies against bovine serum albumin and a gas sensor for remote detection of tetrachloroethene was constructed and tested successfully. The sensors were constructed following the theoretical predictions for an optimal performance.

Micro-chemical sensors based on fiber-optic excitation of surface plasmons

A miniaturized fiber optical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy is investigated in view of the detection of organic solvent vapors, particularly tetrachloroethene. Surface plasmons are excited on a silver coated multimode fiber by polychromatic light, and the resonant excitation is detected as a resonant absorption band in the measured output spectrum. When the analyte is absorbed in a thin gas-sensitive polysiloxane film deposited on the silver layer the polymer film changes its thickness and its refractive index. These changes result in a wavelength shift of the resonant curve depending on the analyte gas concentration. Theoretical considerations about the sensing effect are made and resonance curves were computer-simulated. Based on this simulation the layout of all sensor parameters was optimized. The sensor shows an excellent response to tetrachloroethene with a response time of two seconds and high reporducibility. Using self-assembling monolayers on the silver surface a long-term stability of more than three months is obtained. The sensor shows low cross sensitivities less than 1% to other solvent vapors like aceton and ethanol, furthermore, the influence of humidity is very low. This miniaturized fiber optical sensor in combination with an easy-to-handle and non-sophisticated measuring and evaluation unit is excellently suitable for the remote sensing of special organic solvent vapors.

Peter Bolsmann

Papers

Remote sensing of tetrachloroethene with a micro-fibre optical gas sensor based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

Micro-chemical sensors based on fiber-optic excitation of surface plasmons

Intrinsic fiber optical gas sensor based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

Remote Sensing Of Tetrachloroethene With A Micro-fibre Optical Gas Sensor Based On Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy