A novel microfluidic flow-injection analysis device with fluorescence detection for cation sensing. Application to potassium

A microfabricated device has been developed for fluorimetric detection of potassium ions without previous separation. It is based on use of a fluorescent molecular sensor, calix–bodipy, specially designed to be sensitive to and selective for the target ion. The device is essentially made of a Y-shape microchannel moulded in PDMS fixed on a glass substrate. A passive mixer is used for mixing the reactant and the analyte. The optical detection arrangement uses two optical fibres, one for excitation by a lightemitting diode, the other for collection of the fluorescence. This system enabled the flow-injection analysis of the concentration of potassium ions in aqueous solutions with a detection limit of 0.5 mmol L−1 and without interference with sodium ions. A calibration plot was constructed using potassium standard solutions in the range 0–16 mmol L−1, and was used for the determination of the potassium content of a pharmaceutical pill.