Lako Alba, Sypabekova Marzhan
Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering, U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Aug 22;25(17):5229. doi: 10.3390/s25175229.
Optical fiber-based biosensors have proven to be a powerful platform for chemical and biological analysis due to their compact size, fast response, high sensitivity, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Among the various fiber designs, tapered optical fibers have gained prominence due to the increased evanescent fields that significantly improve light-analyte interactions, making them well-suited for advanced sensing applications. At the same time, advances in microfluidics have allowed for the precise control of small-volume fluids, supporting integration with optical fiber sensors to create compact and multifunctional optofluidic systems. This review explores recent developments in optical fiber optofluidic sensing, with a focus on two primary architectures: in-fiber and outside-fiber platforms. The advantages, limitations, and fabrication strategies for each are discussed, along with their compatibility with various sensing mechanisms. Special emphasis is placed on tapered optical fibers, focusing on design strategies, fabrication, and integration with microfluidics. While in-fiber systems offer compactness and extended interaction lengths, outside-fiber platforms offer greater mechanical stability, modularity, and ease of functionalization. The review highlights the growing interest in tapered fiber-based optofluidic biosensors and their potential to serve as the foundation for autonomous lab-on-a-fiber technologies. Future pathways for achieving self-contained, multiplexed, and reconfigurable sensing platforms are also discussed.
基于光纤的生物传感器因其尺寸紧凑、响应快速、灵敏度高以及抗电磁干扰能力，已被证明是用于化学和生物分析的强大平台。在各种光纤设计中，锥形光纤因其倏逝场增强而备受关注，这显著改善了光与分析物之间的相互作用，使其非常适合先进的传感应用。与此同时，微流控技术的进步使得对小体积流体的精确控制成为可能，支持与光纤传感器集成以创建紧凑且多功能的光流体系统。本综述探讨了光纤光流体传感的最新进展，重点关注两种主要架构：光纤内和光纤外平台。讨论了每种架构的优点、局限性和制造策略，以及它们与各种传感机制的兼容性。特别强调了锥形光纤，重点关注设计策略、制造以及与微流控技术的集成。虽然光纤内系统具有紧凑性和更长的相互作用长度，但光纤外平台具有更高的机械稳定性、模块化和功能化便利性。该综述强调了对基于锥形光纤的光流体生物传感器的兴趣日益浓厚，以及它们作为自主光纤实验室技术基础的潜力。还讨论了实现独立、多路复用和可重构传感平台的未来途径。
