A water-sprayable, thermogelating and biocompatible polymer host for use in fluorescent chemical sensing and imaging of oxygen, pH values and temperature

摘要

We report on the use of a sprayable and thermogelating biomaterial (Poloxamer™; a.k.a. Pluronic™) in optical imaging of pH values, local oxygen and temperature. The material is highly biocompatible and easy to handle. We also show that the material is well permeable to oxygen (thus making it a good choice for use in oxygen sensors), and is stable in liquid solution and at elevated temperature. We demonstrate its applicability in optical sensors for oxygen, pH and temperature. This was accomplished by incorporating appropriate luminescent probes in various kinds of microparticles (which act as hosts for the probes and prevent dye leaching and aggregation), and then dispersing the microparticles in the thermogelating polymer. The resulting sensor gels were deposited on the surface of interest via spraying at temperatures of ＜20℃At these temperatures, the gels adhere well to the target, even on uneven surfaces such as skin, wounds, and bacterial cultures. If temperature is risen to above 25 ℃, the gels form a thin and soft but solid sensing layer which, however, can be simply removed from surface of interest by cooling and wiping it off, or by washing with water. Sprayable thermogelating sensors present obvious advantages over other sensors by not causing damage to the surface of interest. In our perception, the sensing materials also have wide further applicability in sensors for other species including clinically relevant gases, enzyme substrates (such as glucose or lactate) and ions.