Fabrication of patterned sensor arrays with aryl azides on a polymer-coated imaging optical fiber bundle

Arrays of sensing regions are photodeposited on the distal tip of a single imaging optical fiber. First, the distal surface of the fiber is spin-coated with a thin film of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate). The fluorophor is then derivatized with a photoreactive group and subsequently immobilized in a finite area of the film by discrete illumination. Dye incorporation occurs only in the illuminated areas, creating distinct regions of analyte-sensitive fluorescent dye at the fiber's distal end. This paper describes both the chemistry and the manipulations required to make an optical microarray and demonstrates the technique with pH sensors. The fabrication of a four-sensor array is described along with performance data.