Protein Content Sensor based on Plastic Optical Fiber

Abstract

Plastic optical fiber (POF) content protein sensor has been developed. This sensor is made with a gamma and spiral configuration, with a cladding peel length of 5 cm. POF sensor is dipped into the container containing Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) solution with different concentrations of 0.1-1 mg/ml. Both ends of the sensor are connected by Light Emiting Diode (LED) and Phototransistor. The LED light will propagate through the POF and it is received by the phototransistor. Light that propagates will be interfenced due to increasing of protein concentration around the sensor, so that the output voltage will be affected. The output voltage will be forwarded to Arduino Uno and read by the computer. The best results were obtained in a spiral configuration with 3 bending with a sensitivity of 0.007 Vml/mg and a resolution of 0.142 mg/ml. This method has advantages that are easy fabrication, simple measurement process, and low cost.