COMPOSITE OPTICAL BLOOD CULTURE SENSOR

摘要

A culture medium and blood specimen are introduced into a sealable glass vial having a headspace gas mixture such that a change in the gas mixture composition can be monitored by a chemically sensitive material in the vial comprising a mixture of a fluorophore and a chromophore. The fluorophore exhibits a long fluorescence decay time and a fluorescence intensity that depend on a first chemical parameter, such as oxygen concentration. The chromophore exhibits an optical transmission that depends on a second chemical parameter, such as carbon dioxide concentration, the optical transmission of the chromophore changing with the second chemical parameter either within the excitation or within the emission wavelength range of the fluorophore.