A novel chemical optical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer, optical fibers and inkjet printing technology

A novel optical platform has been used to monitor the interaction between a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and a small molecule. The new optical sensor is made of two plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrate with a pattern of silver nanoparticles, printed on it by InkJet technology. Two POFs connect the optical sensor covered by the MIP layer with a light source and with a spectrometer. The specific MIP receptor has been deposited on the optical platform by a spin coater machine. In particular, a selective MIP was considered as receptor for furfural (furan-2-carbaldehyde, 2-FAL) and the possibility of using the obtained device for detection of 2-FAL in aqueous media was investigated as a proof of principle. The preliminary results show that this novel approach can selectively detect the presence of furfural in aqueous media.