New oxygen sensors and their application to biosensing

Recent developments in quenched-luminescence oxygen sensors based on application of phosphorescent probes are discussed. They include the development of new oxygen probes on the basis of the derivative of platinum octaethylporphine, which have improved working characteristics and high compatibility with light-emitting diode excitation. New oxygen probes make it possible to construct compact, simple and cheap measurement device(s) using customized semiconductor optoelectronics. A working prototype fibre-optic intensity-based oxygen sensor was developed. Creation of such a device and its study proved the possibility of its further transformation into a device realizing the lifetime-based sensing approach. Several new applications of phosphorescent sensing materials are presented. They cover enzymatic systems and a 'cytosensor' arrangement on the basis of the lifetime-based fibre-optic oxygen sensor, and long-decay phosphorescent coating for sensing in the low oxygen range. Special emphasis is placed on the development of new phosphorescent Langmuir-Blodgett coatings and their application to sensing of SO₂ and NO_χ in the presence of a large excess of oxygen. Practical usefulness and future prospects of this new family of sensors in comparison with alternative systems are discussed.