Sensors based on surface plasmon resonance in a plastic optical fiber for the detection of trinitrotoluene

The experimental results show that the use of MIP layer is suitable for highly selective detection of TNT, down to about 50 μM (i.e. ∼11 μg/ml). This shows that the direct detection of a low molecular mass substance is possible by SPR transduction, even at low concentration. Furthermore, the proposed sensing head is low cost and relatively easy to realize, and may be very attractive for the detection and analysis of trinitrotoluene (TNT), in particular considering that it does not involve the use of any electrical devices and it can be used for remote/online monitoring exploiting, f.i., a fiber optic link.