We report an ultrasensitive and selective plasmonic sensor for the detection of biomolecules, metal ions and small molecules. The sensor is comprised of low-power light-emitting diode, a multimode optical fiber coupler, a miniature spectrometer and multimode optical fibers with their facet coated with gold nanoparticles. It monitors the nanospectroscopic absorption changes of the plasmon resonance spectrum of the gold nanoparticles. The integration of these sensors for real time, on-line and multiplexing monitoring into microfluidics platforms is straightforward, and may be applied to many different fields, from environmental monitoring to cell biology studies.
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