Microhole fiber-optic sensors for nanoliter liquid measurement

Abstract

• This paper review the research status of microhole fiber based nanoliter liquid sensors. • This paper illustrates the microhole fiber based nanoliter liquid sensors for several variables measurement. • The microhole fiber gives a new possibility for nanoliter liquid measurement. • The future development directions of microhole fiber-optic sensors for nanoliter liquid are discussed. This article reviews the development of nanoliter liquid sensors based on microhole fiber. To measure liquid characteristics in microscale is crucial in the field of environmental pollution monitoring, food and drug safety testing, life science research, clinical application, chemical analysis and biomedical research. Microhole optical fiber with micro air holes can provide fitting space and circulation channel for the measurement of miniature volume liquid. Microhole optical fiber sensors have the characteristics of simple structure, enclosed environment, strong light and liquid interaction, which can meet the requirements of multi-parameter, high sensitivity and pollution-free measurement of minimal specimen. Here, we outline the cumulative introduction and the previous experimental research work on microhole fiber-optic sensors for nanoliter liquid, and ends with some conclusions and prospects. We hope this review can provide rigorous and organized literature to researchers/students for the basic understanding, trends, and practical utility of microhole fiber sensors.