Fiber-Optic Chemiluminescent Biosensors for Monitoring Aqueous Alcohols and Other Water Quality Parameters

The proposed Fiber-Optic Chemiluminescent Biosensor concept forms the basis for the development of a new class of light weight, small, low power, inexpensive robust, accurate and extremely sensitive sensors which can be applied to various analytical requirements within the aerospace biomedical, ECLSS and CELSS fields. Immobilized enzymes are used to facilitate oxidation of the target molecules, producing hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide then oxidizes an immobilized luminophore, producing quanta of visible light which are conducted along a fiber-optic pathway to a photodetector. Using this technique, sensors can be developed with low parts per billion (ppb) detection limits for a broad range of aqueous substances such as alcohols, sugars, amino acids, and inorganic oxidants. The technique can readily be adapted to both the analysis of individual sample and to the on-line continuous monitoring of an aqueous stream and also forms the basis for development of highly specific and sensitive detectors for gas and liquid chromatography.