2. Academic Validation
  3. Advanced surface-functionalized optical fiber biosensing platform for ultrasensitive fructose quantification in biological fluids

Advanced surface-functionalized optical fiber biosensing platform for ultrasensitive fructose quantification in biological fluids

  • Biosens Bioelectron. 2026 Feb 15:294:118258. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2025.118258.
Lan Yang 1,  Yansong Li 2,  Ruiduo Wang 3,  Tongyuan Kang 4,  Depeng Kong 5,  Jianshe Li 6,  Man Jiang 4,  Hailiang Du 2,  Pingyi Song 2,  Yaomin Zhu 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China; Photonics Functional Materials and Devices Research Laboratory, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China.
  • 2 Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optical Science and Technology, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Science, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China; Photonics Functional Materials and Devices Research Laboratory, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Photon-Technology in Western China Energy, International Collaborative Center on Photoelectric Technology and Nano Functional Materials, School of Physics, Institute of Photonics & Photon Technology, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710069, Shaanxi, China.
  • 5 State Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optical Science and Technology, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Science, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China; Photonics Functional Materials and Devices Research Laboratory, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China.
  • 6 State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science & Technology and Key Laboratory for Microstructural Material Physics of Hebei Province, School of Science, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, Hebei, China.
  • 7 Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41275803 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2025.118258
Abstract

The human blood's concentration evaluation of fructose demonstrates significant clinical importance due to that it is closely associated with various diseases. However, current clinical technologies face challenges in achieving rapid quantitative analysis of fructose. The cascaded fiber sensor was proposed by fabricating microsphere cavities through the sequential fusion of single-mode fibers and seven-core fiber, followed by flame tapering of the seven-core fiber. Through optimization of the tapering length parameters, a structure with high refractive index sensitivity was obtained. By chemically immobilizing Ketohexokinase (KHK) onto the fiber sensor surface, we established a specific biological functional layer that provides targeted binding sites. Spectral measurements of fructose standards at gradient concentrations demonstrated sensing sensitivity of 5.98 nm/(μg/mL) and detection limit of 12.6 ng/mL. Subsequent measurements of fructose solutions at gradient concentrations in human serum samples revealed that the sensor exhibits strong specificity and anti-interference capabilities in serum. Moreover, we performed the Bland-Altman analysis by comparing the quantitative analysis results of fiber sensor with liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method. The analysis confirmed the validity and accuracy of the sensor's detection capability towards clinically unknown serum samples. This method offers several advantages, including minimal sample volume requirements, label-free, rapid analysis and low cost, demonstrating significant potential for clinical applications in fructose detection.

Keywords

Fiber biosensor; Fructose; Human serum; Ketohexokinase; Label-free detection.

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