Polysaccharide hydrogel optical fibers and their fabrication and use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024184016-A1
Application number	US-202218556611-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 22, 2022
Priority date	Apr 23, 2021
Publication date	Jun 6, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

Optical fibers containing wet-spun multi-layer hydrogel cladding with ionic-crosslinked polysaccharides are provided. Optical fibers can be formed with step- or gradient-index architectures, fusion splicing, and facile rare-earth ion doping. Plasmonic nanoparticles, functionalized light-sensitive quantum dots, or particles can be incorporated into the fiber core to generate a resonance light shift upon the presence and binding of molecular biotargets for biosensor applications. The integration of plasmonic hydrogel fibers with medical swabs provides for rapid detection of pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). The inclusion of living cells allows for the non-invasive digitalization and quantification of complex biological responses such as cancer proliferative invasion and discovery of anti-cancer drug susceptibility thresholds.

First claim

1 . An optical fiber comprising:
a) one or more hydrogel cladding layers comprising polysaccharides crosslinked ionically by metal cations; and b) a core, wherein the core is a hydrogel core, a liquid core, a hollow core, or a gaseous core, wherein the core is encapsulated by the one or more hydrogel cladding layers, wherein the hydrogel cladding layers have a lower refractive index than the core of the optical fiber.

2 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel cladding layers comprise gellan gum or alginate, optionally wherein the hydrogel cladding layers comprise about 0.1 weight % to 1.0 weight % gellan gum or about 1.0 weight % to 2.0 weight % alginate.

3 - 5 . (canceled)

6 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the metal cations comprise alkaline earth metal cations.

7 - 8 . (canceled)

9 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel core comprises alginate or gellan gum, optionally wherein the hydrogel core comprises about 2 weight % to about 7 weight % alginate or about 1.0 weight % to about 1.5 weight % gellan gum.

10 - 12 . (canceled)

13 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel core comprises a mixture of at least two ionically crosslinked polysaccharides or at least one ionically crosslinked polysaccharide and a non-polysaccharide hydrogel polymer.

14 . (canceled)

15 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel cladding layers and the hydrogel core have a step-index or gradient-index architecture, or wherein the optical fiber has a gradient of refractive index values along the length of the optical fiber.

16 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel cladding layers have alternating refractive index values.

17 - 18 . (canceled)

19 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogel core comprises polysaccharides crosslinked ionically by metal cations.

20 . The optical fiber of claim 19 , wherein the hydrogel core is doped with rare earth metal cations.

21 - 22 . (canceled)

23 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , further comprising a shielding layer.

24 . The optical fiber of claim 23 , wherein the shielding layer comprises alginate or gellan gum, optionally wherein the shielding layer comprises 1 weight % to 2 weight % alginate or 0.5 weight % to 1.5 weight % gellan gum.

25 . (canceled)

26 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber has a multi-input architecture or a multi-output architecture or both a multi-input architecture and a multi-output architecture.

27 . (canceled)

28 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , further comprising a plasmonic nanoparticle or a quantum dot, wherein the plasmonic nanoparticle or the quantum dot is encapsulated within the core, optionally wherein the plasmonic nanoparticle comprises a noble metal, a metal-oxide, a transition metal nitride, or a plasmonic metal-metal oxide nanocomposite.

29 - 31 . (canceled)

32 . The optical fiber of claim 28 , further comprising a capture agent that selectively binds to a target of interest, wherein said capture agent is attached to the outer surface of the plasmonic nanoparticle or the quantum dot, optionally wherein the capture agent comprises an antibody, an antibody mimetic, an aptamer, a peptoid, or a ligand, and optionally wherein the target of interest is an antigen, an antibody, a protein, a nucleic acid, a metabolite, a toxin, a drug, a pollutant, a cell, a virus, a bacterium, a parasite, a tissue, an organoid, or an organism.

33 - 34 . (canceled)

35 . The optical fiber of claim 32 , wherein the capture agent comprises an antibody that selectively binds to a spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2).

36 - 37 . (canceled)

38 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , further comprising an endotracheal tube or a medical swab coupled to the optical fiber.

39 - 41 . (canceled)

42 . The optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the core has a continuous diameter, a varying diameter, or is discontinuous along the length of the optical fiber.

43 . A photonic device comprising the optical fiber of claim 1 and a light source coupled to the optical fiber, optionally wherein the light source is a laser diode, a light-emitting diode (LED), a superluminescent diode, a microfocus X-ray source, or a lamp.

44 - 46 . (canceled)

47 . The photonic device of claim 43 , further comprising optics to focus light from the light source into the core of the optical fiber.

48 . The photonic device of claim 43 , further comprising a photodetector, optionally wherein the photodetector is a charge-coupled device (CCD), an active-pixel sensor (APS), or a CMOS sensor.

49 . (canceled)

50 . A method of detecting a target of interest, the method comprising measuring the plasmonic response of the plasmonic nanoparticle or the spectral response or change in photoluminescent lifetime of the quantum dot encapsulated within the core of the optical fiber of claim 28 upon binding of the target of interest to the capture agent.

51 . A method of guiding light to a target using the optical fiber of claim 1 , the method comprising:
placing the optical fiber of claim 1 such that a first end of the optical fiber is attached to or near the target; and aligning a light source with a second end of the optical fiber, wherein light from the light source passes through the optical fiber to the target.

52 - 56 . (canceled)

57 . The method of claim 51 , further comprising introducing a bubble into the core of the optical fiber.

58 . The method of claim 51 , further comprising applying an acoustic stimulus, an electric stimulus, a magnetic stimulus, or a mechanical stimulus to the optical fiber, wherein optical output from the optical fiber is modulated.

59 - 60 . (canceled)

61 . A method of monitoring proliferation of a cell, the method comprising:
culturing the cell within the core of the optical fiber of claim 1 ; aligning a light source with an end of the optical fiber; and monitoring output light power from the optical fiber, wherein the output light power decreases with increasing cell density resulting from proliferation of the cell.

62 - 63 . (canceled)

64 . A method of monitoring expression of a fluorescently labeled protein in a cell, the method comprising:
introducing the cell into the core of the optical fiber of claim 1 , wherein the fluorescently labeled protein is expressed in the cell; exposing the cell to excitation light guided by the optical fiber; and monitoring fluorescent light or a decrease in excitation-range light transmission intensity output from the optical fiber.

65 . (canceled)

66 . A method of guiding light to a target using the optical fiber of claim 1 , the method comprising:
introducing the target into the core of the optical fiber of claim 1 ; and aligning a light source with an end of the optical fiber, wherein light from the light source passes through the optical fiber to the target.

67 - 73 . (canceled)

74 . A method of activating a photoactivatable

Assignees

• Univ Leland Stanford Junior

Inventors

• Demirci Utkan
• Ahmed Rajib
• Reis Rui L
• Guimaraes Carlos F

Classifications

• G01N21/6428

  Measuring fluorescence of fluorescent products of reactions or of fluorochrome labelled reactive substances, e.g. measuring quenching effects, using measuring "optrodes" (in vivo A61B5/00; immunoassay G01N33/53) · CPC title

• A61K41/0057

  Photodynamic therapy with a photosensitizer, i.e. agent able to produce reactive oxygen species upon exposure to light or radiation, e.g. UV or visible light; photocleavage of nucleic acids with an agent · CPC title

• G02B1/048 Primary

  characterised by the cladding material · CPC title

• G02B1/046

  characterised by the core material · CPC title

• G02B6/0229

  characterised by nanostructures, i.e. structures of size less than 100 nm, e.g. quantum dots · CPC title