Functionalized photonic crystal for the sensing of Sarin agents

• A PhC sensor was firstly utilized to detect a real chemical warfare, Sarin agent, with high sensitivity.
• BuChE, which is cheaper and has better immobilization ability compared with AChE, was immobilized onto PhC sensor.
• DEPBT was used as a condensation agent for the condensation of BuChE with PhC hydrogel.
• The technique developed in this research also represented a potential in the detection of other nerve agents.

The indiscriminate use of nerve agents by terrorist groups has attracted attention of the scientific communities toward the development of novel sensor technique for these deadly chemicals. A photonic crystal (PhC) hydrogel immobilized with butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was firstly prepared for the sensing of Sarin agents. Periodic polystyrene colloidal (240 nm) array was embedded inside an acrylamide hydrogel, and then BuChE was immobilized inside the hydrogel matrix via condensation with 3-(diethoxyphosphoryloxy)−1,2,3-benzotriazin-4(3 h)-one (DEPBT). It indicated that a total of 3.7 units of BuChE were immobilized onto the PhC hydrogel. The functionalized hydrogel recognized the Sarin agent and then shrunk, thus the diffraction of PhC hydrogel blue shifted significantly, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 10−15 mol L−1 was achieved.

A photonic crystal (PhC) biosensor immobilized with butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was firstly developed for the detection of Sarin agent, and the relationship between the concentration of Sarin agent and diffraction peak was also calculated. The functionalized PhC realized a simple and cheap method for the detection of real nerve agent.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide