Improved integrated waveguide absorbance optodes for ion-selective sensing.

The first prototype of a technologically improved integrated waveguide absorbance optode (IWAO) was developed and tested with a membrane based on a new H+-selective ketocyanine dye and a cadmium ionophore. It was designed with curved instead of rectilinear planar waveguides. Results demonstrated the suitability of the new IWAOs to be employed as sensing platforms, which confer versatility, robustness, and mass production capabilities besides high sensitivity on conventional bulk optodes, as well as the usefulness of such dyes in developing ion-selective membranes in combination with a selective ionophore. The sensor integration as a detector in a flow injection system (FIA) was proposed to obtain an automated, simple, and sufficiently reproducible (RSD <5%) analytical methodology with a sample throughput of 55 h(-1). Very sensitive optodes were obtained, and detection limits on the order of 20 ppb were achieved. Because of the ionophore employed, the optode system showed excellent selectivity over alkali and alkaline-earth metals with the exception of samples containing lead and cadmium ions, where the membrane responded to both analytes. The proposed procedure combines all the advantages of the FIA systems, the simplicity of optical detection, ion recognition selectivity, and sensitivity of ketocyanine dyes, and the features achieved using the integrated device, which comprise an improved sensitivity and short response times as well as robustness, easy handling, and mass production.