Abstract
The availability of techniques for sensitive detection of early stage osteoarthritis is critical for improving patient health. This study illustrates the feasibility of a fiber-optic particle plasmon resonance (FOPPR) sensor with gold nanoparticles on the unclad region of optical fiber probes for analysis of osteoarthritis biomarkers, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3). Results show that the sensor can achieve a refractive index resolution of 5.18 x 10(-7) RIU and limits of detection for TNF-alpha and MMP-3 as low as 8.22 pg ml(-1) (0.48 pM) and 34.3 pg ml(-1) (1.56 pM), respectively. Additionally, the FOPPR sensor shows a good correlation in determining TNF-alpha and MMP-3 in synovial fluid with the clinically accepted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Finally, given the FOPPR sensor's nature of being low-cost, label-free, highly sensitive, real-time, simple-to-operate, the FOPPR sensor could offer potential to monitor biomarkers of various diseases, and provide an ideal technical tool for point-of-care diagnostics.