Nanoscale viscometer device

摘要

The invention provides a viscometer device 1 suitable for determining the concentration of a solute within a fluid sample, comprising a capillary tube 3 having a core 20 and means for filling the capillary tube with a fluid sample; a light source 2 for providing light into the tube; means for detecting the light 9 exiting the tube, wherein the rate at which the capillary tube is filled with the fluid is optically measured to determine the viscosity of the fluid to calculate the concentration of a solute. The capillary tube may be a hollow core photonic crystal fibre (HC-PCF) and the invention provides a capillary viscometer capable of measuring the viscosity of nano-litre quantities of a sample fluid. An example application of the device is to determine glucose dissolved in nano water, demonstrating that HC-PCF can be used for the continuous monitoring of glucose levels within blood plasma.