Oral Presentation ESA-SRB Conference 2015

A Non-invasive Sensor for Hydrogen Peroxide and pH (#67)

Malcolm S Purdey 1 , Erik P Schartner 1 , Melanie L Sutton-McDowall 1 2 , Lesley J Ritter 1 2 , Tanya M Monro 1 3 , Jeremy G Thompson 1 , Andrew D Abell 1
  1. ARC Centre of Excellence in Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) , The University of Adelaide North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia 5005, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia
  2. Robinson Research Institute, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health , The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide , Australia
  3. University of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a reactive oxygen species (ROS) shown to affect the developmental competence of embryos, as do fluctuations in pH. Methods for detection of H2O2 and pH often involve the addition of fluorescent dyes and confocal imaging. This poses significant scientific and ethical problems for monitoring of embryos during human in vitro fertilisation (IVF), as the effect of these compounds is unknown and direct contact is unadvisable. Therefore, the non-invasive sensing of H2O2 and pH is an important target both for understanding embryonic development and the clinical monitoring of embryo health. This work reports the use of organic fluorophores for the detection of H2O2 and pH while embedded in a polymer coating on an optical fibre surface. CarboxyPeroxyfluor-1 (CPF1) and semi-naphthorhodofluor-2 (SNARF2) were immobilised to the fibre tip by a UV-catalysed polymerisation of acrylamide to the optical fibre surface. It is verified here that both H2O2 and pH can be simultaneously detected using a single optical fibre probe. These results demonstrate potential for application of this dual-purpose fibre probe for the monitoring of developmental embryonic health.