Phys.org August 2, 2022
Researchers in Taiwan harvested dragline spider silk from the giant wood spider Nephila pilipes, which is native to Taiwan. They enveloped the silk, which is just 10 microns in diameter, with a biocompatible photocurable resin and cured it to form a smooth protective surface creating an optical fiber structure that was 100 microns in diameter, with the spider silk acting as the core and the resin as the cladding. They added a biocompatible nano-layer of gold to enhance the fiber’s sensing abilities. This process formed a thread-like structure with two ends. To use the fiber to take measurements, they immersed one end in a liquid sample and connected the other end to a light source and a spectrometer. This allowed the researchers to detect the refractive index of the solution and use it to determine the type of sugar and its concentration. The sensor is reusable, cost-effective, easy to use and offers real-time detection. According to the researchers with further development the sensor could be used in implantable medical devices and treatment strategies in biomedical applications…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Refractive index and (b) transmittance slope at λ = 1300 nm as a function of concentration for different sugar solutions… Credit: Biomedical Optics Express Vol. 13, Issue 9, pp. 4483-4493 (2022)Â