Optical immune sensors for the monitoring protein substances in the air

The efficiency of work of optical immune sensors based on the photoluminescence (Ph) of porous silicon (PS) and the fibre optics in combination with the enhanced chemical luminescence was examined during the monitoring of biological pollutants, produced during microbial synthesis of lysine, in the air inside and in the vicinity of a biotechnological plant. It was shown that the sensitivity of the analysis performed by the fibre optics sensor (5–20 μg/l) was higher than the sensitivity of the analysis accomplished with the help of the sensor based on the Ph PS (100 μg/l). The sensitivities of the proposed sensors were comparable with the sensitivity of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The Ph PS sensor is characterised by fast and straightforward analysis, absence of any label, simplicity in operation, low costs of basic material and PS availability.