Visual Sensor for Sterilization of Polymer Fixtures Using Embedded Mesoporous Silicon Photonic Crystals.

ABSTRACT: A porous photonic crystal is integrated with a plastic medical fixture (IV connector hub) to provide a visual colorimetric sensor to indicate the presence or absence of alcohol used to sterilize the fixture. The photonic crystal is prepared in porous silicon (pSi) by electrochemical anodization of single crystal silicon, and the porosity and the stop band of the material is engineered such that the integrated device visibly changes color (green to red or blue to green) when infiltrated with alcohol. Two types of self-reporting devices are prepared and their performance compared: the first type involves heat-assisted fusion of a freestanding pSi photonic crystal to the connector end of a preformed polycarbonate hub, forming a composite where the unfilled portion of the pSi film acts as the

SUBMITTER: Kumeria T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5951688 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature