Luminescent oxygen sensor based on a lanthanide complex
First Claim
1. A method for detecting the presence or determining the concentration of oxygen gas in a sample comprising exposing an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex which is contained in an oxygen-permeable, solid polymeric matrix to said sample and to radiation which causes said lanthanide complex to luminesce and detecting a change in the luminescence intensity emitted by said lanthanide complex resulting from said exposure to said oxygen gas.
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Abstract
An oxygen sensor is provided for determination of the partial pressure of oxygen. In one aspect, the invention consists of oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complexes for an oxygen sensor. The complexes are oxygen-quenchable even though immobilized in a solid matrix, such as a solid polymeric matrix, and preferably are terbium complexes of Schiff base or β-diketone ligands. Certain preferred processes are described for improving the oxygen sensitivity of the lanthanide complexes. In another aspect, the invention consists of a combination measuring and reference analyte sensor containing both quenchable and nonquenchable luminescent materials. The materials luminesce at different wavelengths and thus may be transmitted together down a single optical fiber and later descriminated by means of filters and separately detected. In a third aspect, the invention consists of a low-noise phosphorescent analyte sensor employing a gatable detector. By use of an analyte-quenchable material having a relatively long-lived phosphorescence, a pulsed excitation source, and selectively coupling the detector after the excitation source is off and any short-lived background luminescence has ended, a low-noise output signal consisting of the long-lived phosphorescence is selectively detected and the concentration of the analyte determined therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, all aspects of the invention are combined to produce a miniature in vivo oxygen sensor for use in the narrow blood vessels of the body.
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Citations
43 Claims
- 1. A method for detecting the presence or determining the concentration of oxygen gas in a sample comprising exposing an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex which is contained in an oxygen-permeable, solid polymeric matrix to said sample and to radiation which causes said lanthanide complex to luminesce and detecting a change in the luminescence intensity emitted by said lanthanide complex resulting from said exposure to said oxygen gas.
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15. An apparatus for measuring the concentration of oxygen gas in a sample comprising:
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a lanthanide complex contained in a solid polymeric matrix which is permeable to oxygen gas and wherein said lanthanide complex emits a luminescence when exposed to an incident energy signal in a predetermined wavelength range and which luminescence is quenched by oxygen gas; source means coupled to said luminescence material for generating the incident energy signal to cause said lanthanide complex to luminesce; and detector means coupled to said lanthanide complex for detecting the luminescence therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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- 19. An oxygen gas sensor comprising an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex of at least one lanthanide ion complexed with at least one Schiff base ligand and detector means operatively connected to said complex for detecting oxygen-quenching of said complex.
- 27. A method for detecting the presence or determining the concentration of oxygen gas in a sample comprising exposing an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex to said sample and to radiation which causes said lanthanide complex to luminesce and detecting a change in the luminescence intensity emitted by said lanthanide complex resulting from said exposure to said oxygen gas, wherein said lanthanide complex comprises at least one lanthanide ion complexed with at least one Schiff base ligand.
- 33. An oxygen gas sensor comprising an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex in solid form and detector means operatively connected to said complex for detecting oxygen-quenching of said complex.
- 38. A method for detecting the presence or determining the concentration of oxygen gas in a sample comprising exposing an oxygen-quenchable luminescent lanthanide complex in solid form to said sample and to radiation which causes said lanthanide complex to luminesce and detecting the change in the luminescent intensity emitted by said lanthanide complex resulting from said exposure to said oxygen gas.
Specification