Single Plasmon-Active Optical Fiber Probe for Instantaneous Chiral Detection

Abstract

The chiral recognition of organic compounds is of vital importance in the field of pharmacology and medicine. Unfortunately, the common analytical routes used in this field are significantly restricted by time spent and equipment demands. In this work, we propose an unprecedented alternative, aimed at enantiomer discrimination and estimation of their concentrations in an uncomplicated and instantaneous manner. The proposed approach is based on the creation of an optical fiber probe with two pronounced plasmonic bands attributed to gold and silver. The gold or silver surfaces were grafted with moieties, able to enunciating entrap chiral amines from solution, resulting in a wavelength shift corresponding to each plasmonic metal. As a model compound of chiral amine, we chose the DOPA, also taking in mind its high medical relevancy. For chiral detection, the optical fiber probe was simply immersed in an analytical solution of DOPA, and the selective shift of gold or silver plasmon bands was observed in the reflected light depending on DOPA chirality. The observed shifts depend on the concentration of DOPA enantiomers. In the case of a racemic mixture, the shifts of both plasmonic bands emerge, making possible the simultaneous determination of enantiomer concentrations and their ratio. The analytical cycle takes several minutes and requires very simple laboratory equipment.