A novel contemporary molecular imprinting technique for non-enzymatic selective glucose detection

In this article we have reported highly selective detection of glucose using molecular imprinting technique (MIP), where unclad portion of a fiber is used as a substrate. The sensor works on non-enzymatic approach which makes it more promising. Employing unclad fiber with large core diameter not only eased the coupling but also pro-vided enough evanescent field to interact with ambient medium. The presence of MIP in sensing region (unclad fiber) provides binding sites sensitive only to the size and shape specific target molecules that notably improved the selectivity. In addition, we have added carbon nano particles (CNPs) with high specific surface area to the polymer matrix, which provides numerous microcavities that worked as active sites. This enabled efficient penetration of analyte to the coated fiber surface. Herein, exponentially decaying evanescent field was elicited for establishing intensity modulated optical fiber sensors. Our experimental measurements showed that adding 0.0025 g CNPs to polymer matrix not only preserved the size of micro holes in MIP but also rendered high linear response in the clinical range of glucose concentration that is 2-10 mM. The present device introduced several advantages such as low-cost, online monitoring, fast response time (~7 s), high stability and selectivity that makes it promising candidate for integrated sensors and biological medicine measurements.