Design & construction of a tapered optical fiber sensor for the detection of streptavidin protein

Abstract

This paper presents the fabrication process and operation of a bio-sensor based on tapered optical fiber by using optical spectrum shift in the presence of PBS buffer and dissolved streptavidin. The taper-fiber sensors are 18 and 24 μm in diameter and are fabricated by use of an oxy-butane torch. The optical spectrum is obtained using a broadband light source and an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) in a 40 nm wavelength range. The existence of streptavidin on the tapered fiber surface is confirmed. The experiments on PBS buffer have shown that, the output spectrum demonstrates a red-shift by adding the streptavidin. The maximum sensitivity obtained is 29000 nm/RIU.

Keywords

• tapered fiber
• biosensor
• streptavidin
• biological buffer