Use of additives, copolymers, and dopants for optical stability of analyte sensing components

1. A sensor for measurement of an analyte in a medium within a living animal, the sensor comprising:

an analyte indicator having an opacity; and

one or more optical signal stabilizing additives, wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives maintain the opacity of the analyte indicator over time.

2. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives are selected from one or more of a)-g):

a) titanium dioxide (TiO 2 );

b) barium sulfate;

c) magnesium silicate;

d) hollow beads;

e) solid beads;

f) monomers having vinyl functionality; and

g) dopants containing dithio groups.

3. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives have particle sizes of about 0.001 to about 100 μm.

4. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include hollow or solid beads.

5. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the hollow or solid beads are composed of one or more of:

a) silicon dioxide;

b) glass;

c) alumina;

d) melamine; and

e) polystyrene or polystyrene functionalized with one or more polyethylene glycols (PEGs), amino, carboxy-sulfate, sulfate, carboxylate, and hydroxylate moieties.

6. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include monomers having vinyl functionality.

7. The sensor of claim 6 , wherein the monomers having vinyl functionality include hydrophobic vinyl monomers.

8. The sensor of claim 6 , wherein the monomers having vinyl functionality include one or more of hydroxybutyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate.

9. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include 3,3′-dithiodipropionic acid.

10. The sensor of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor housing, wherein the analyte indicator covers at least a portion of the sensor housing.

11. The sensor of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor substrate or a sensor electrode, wherein the analyte indicator covers at least a portion of the sensor substrate or the sensor electrode.

12. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives are co-monomers with the analyte indicator.

13. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives are co-monomers with the analyte indicator in a hydrogel.

14. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives are entrapped in a hydrogel covering at least a portion of the sensor housing.

15. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator comprises a polymer comprising co-monomers of four monomers according to Formula V: A-B-C-D [Formula V],

wherein A is an analyte indicator monomer, B is a methacrylate monomer, C is a polyethylene glycol monomer, and D is an optical signal stabilizing additive, wherein A is 0.01 to 10% by weight, B is 1 to 99% by weight, C is 1 to 99% by weight, and D is 0.01 to 99% by weight of the total polymer.

16. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is configured to pass a percentage of light, and the percentage of light passing through the analyte indicator would not change by more than 50% when the sensor is placed within the living animal for at least one month.

17. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is configured to pass a percentage of light, and the percentage of light passing through the analyte indicator would not change by more than 20% when the sensor is placed within the living animal for at least one month.

18. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is configured to pass a percentage of light, and the percentage of light passing through the analyte indicator would not change by more than 10% when the sensor is placed within the living animal for at least one month.

19. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is configured to pass a percentage of light, and the percentage of light passing through the analyte indicator would not change by more than 50% when the sensor is placed within the living animal for at least two months.

20. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is configured to pass a percentage of light, and the percentage of light passing through the analyte indicator would not change by more than 50% when the sensor is placed within the living animal for at least six months.

21. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is a polymer hydrogel including acrylic acid.

22. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator comprises polyethylene glycol monomers.

23. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the analyte indicator is made of a polymer hydrogel including polyethylene glycol monomers.

24. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise titanium dioxide.

25. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise barium sulfate.

26. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise magnesium silicate.

27. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise hollow beads.

28. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise solid beads.

29. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise monomers having vinyl functionality.

30. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives comprise dopants containing dithio groups.

31. A sensor for measurement of an analyte in a medium within a living animal, the sensor comprising:

an analyte indicator having an opacity; and

one or more optical signal stabilizing additives, wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives maintain the opacity of the analyte indicator over time, wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include one or more dithio-containing dopants ranging in alkyl chain length from 2-34 carbon atoms.

32. A method of fabricating a sensor for measurement of an analyte in a medium within a living animal, the method comprising:

applying an analyte indicator having an opacity to a sensor such that the applied analyte indicator covers at least a portion of a sensor housing, sensor substrate, or sensor electrode, wherein the analyte indicator comprises one or more optical signal stabilizing additives, and the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives maintain the opacity of the analyte indicator over time.

33. The method of claim 32 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives are hollow or solid beads.

34. The method of claim 26 , wherein the hollow or solid beads are composed of one or more of:

a) silicon dioxide;

b) glass;

c) alumina;

d) melamine; and

e) polystyrene or polystyrene functionalized with one or more polyethylene glycols (PEGs), amino, carboxy-sulfate, sulfate, carboxylate, and hydroxylate moieties.

35. The method of claim 32 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include monomers having vinyl functionality.

36. The method of claim 35 , wherein the monomers having vinyl functionality include hydrophobic vinyl monomers.

37. The method of claim 35 , wherein the monomers having vinyl functionality include one or more of hydroxybutyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate.

38. The method of claim 32 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include one or more dithio-containing dopants ranging in alkyl chain length from 2-34 carbon atoms.

39. The method of claim 32 , wherein the one or more optical signal stabilizing additives include 3,3′-dithiodipropionic acid.