Metal ion detection of novel conjugated-polymer sensor fibers fabricated with 3-D hydrodynamic focusing

We propose a novel method to detect metal ions by using polydiacetylene (PDA)-embedded sensor microfibers fabricated with a 3-D hydrodynamic focusing technique. PDA, conjugated polymer, has a unique optical property to transform its color from visible blue to fluorescent red by metal ions. Previously we developed microfluidic PDA sensor systems by applying 2-D hydrodynamic focusing techniques. Now we use 3-D hydrodynamic focusing technique to fabricate PDA hydrogel microfibers to detect Al3+ and Zn2+ ions