A Novel Molecular Imprinting Polymerbased Optical Fiber Sensor for Valsartan

A novel molecular imprinting polymers (MIPs) based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) optical fiber sensor for detection of valsartan is designed and demonstrated experimentally. The MZI fiber sensor is made by a tapered microfiber structure with a taper diameter of 4.5 μm and a sensitivity of 1770 nm/RIU at the refective index of 1.33. The molecular imprinting polymers (MIPs) is synthesized using high-affinity binding sites via solid-phase based process, where valsartan is used as a target molecule. The sensor is treated utilizing a EDC/NHSS activated process and immobilized with the synthesized valsartan MIPs. Experimental results show that the developed MZI MIPs sensor has a linear response within the valsartan concentration range of 0 to 500 pg/mL, with a low detection limit of 35 pg/mL.