Advanced fiber optic sensors for quantitative nitrite detection: Comparative analysis of plasmonic tilted fiber Bragg gratings and fiber optic tips with ion-imprinted polymers

The presence of nitrite, a prevalent contaminant in natural environments, presents a significant environmental and human health concern. Hence, it is imperative to develop a sensor with the ability to quantitatively detect nitrite. This study focuses on the design and development of i) probe 1: tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) and ii) probe 2: fiber optic tip-based plasmonic sensors utilizing ion-imprinted polymers. The concentration of nitrite was assessed at various levels using both sensing configurations. The outcomes indicated that the TFBGs-based sensor exhibited a sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) of 0.469 nm/ln(mu g/mL) and 0.142 mu g/mL in the linear detection range of 0.5-50 mu g/mL. The fiber optic tip-based sensor exhibited a sensitivity and LOD of 1.16 nm/ln (mu g/mL) and 0.176 mu g/mL within the 1-50 mu g/mL linear detection range. The obtained sensing results reveal that the sensors presented in this study are able to accurately detect nitrite at various concentrations in a quantitative manner. Moreover, an assessment was conducted to examine the selectivity and reusability of the sensor individually, yielding satisfactory results.