A sensor for detecting and/or quantifying the amount of analyte in a sample, the sensor including: a sensing region; and a barrier layer including a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-quenching, analyte-permeable membrane having an ROS-quenching agent adsorbed thereto; wherein the sensor is adapted so that the sample enters the sensing region of the sensor through said barrier layer.
1. A sensor for detecting and/or quantifying the amount of analyte in a sample, the sensor comprising:
a sensing region; and
a barrier layer comprising a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-quenching, analyte-permeable membrane having an ROS-quenching agent within pores of the membrane, the pores each having a length, wherein the ROS-quenching agent is distributed along the length of the pores; and
wherein the sensor is configured so that the sample enters the sensing region of the sensor through said barrier layer.
2. A sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the membrane selectively quenches ROS.
3. A sensor according to claim 2 , wherein the membrane substantially does not cause depletion of analyte.
4. A sensor according to claim 1 which is an optical sensor comprising an optical waveguide for directing incident light onto the sensing region.
5. A sensor according to claim 4 , which is an optical glucose sensor comprising a sensing region comprising a boronic acid receptor for binding to glucose and a fluorophore associated with said receptor.
6. A sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the ROS-quenching agent is a transition metal, a transition metal compound, or an enzyme.
7. A sensor according to claim 6 wherein the ROS-quenching agent is a transition metal of Group 10 or 11 of the Periodic Table or an alloy containing a transition metal of Group 10 or 11 of the Periodic Table.
8. A sensor according to claim 7 , wherein the ROS-quenching agent is platinum in the form of nanoparticles.
9. A sensor according to claim 7 , wherein the ROS-quenching agent is platinum.
10. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the pores in the membrane have an aspect ratio of at least 100.
11. The sensor of claim 10 , wherein the membrane is a hollow fiber membrane.
12. The sensor of claim 10 , wherein the membrane has a thickness of between 20 and 50 microns.
13. The sensor of claim 10 , wherein the pores in the membrane have a pore diameter of 100 nm or less.
14. The sensor of claim 13 , wherein the ROS-quenching agent is in the form of particles having a nanoscale average particle size of between 1 nm and 100 nm.
15. A reactive oxygen species (ROS)-quenching, analyte-permeable membrane having pores, configured for use in a sensor for detecting and/or quantifying the amount of analyte in a sample, the membrane having an ROS-quenching agent within the pores of the membrane, wherein each pore of the membrane has a length and the ROS-quenching agent is distributed along the length of the pores.
16. A membrane according to claim 15 wherein the ROS-quenching agent is a transition metal, a transition metal compound, or an enzyme.
17. A membrane according to claim 15 which selectively quenches ROS.
18. A method of detecting and/or quantifying the amount of analyte in a sample, comprising inserting into the sample a sensor, providing incident light to a sensing region of the sensor and detecting an emission pattern of a fluorophore;
wherein the sensor is configured for detecting and/or quantifying the amount of analyte in a sample and comprises:
a sensing region; and
a barrier layer comprising a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-quenching, analyte-permeable membrane having an ROS-quenching agent within pores of the membrane, each pore of the membrane has a length and the ROS-quenching agent is distributed along the length of the pores;
wherein the sensor is configured so that the sample enters the sensing region of the sensor through said barrier layer.