Development of an alcohol optode membrane based on fluorescence enhancement of fluorescein derivatives

A new type of optode membrane for the determination of alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol etc, is presented that can be exploited in optical and fibre-optic sensors. It is based on the use of a new lipophilic fluorescent reagent, namely fluorescein octadecyl ester (FODE), which is immobilized in a plasticized PVC membrane. The response mechanism relies on the fact that FODE can reversibly recognize alcohol molecules due to the hydrogen bonding formation between FODE and alcohol molecules. The analytical information in this membrane is the enhancement of the relative fluorescence intensity measured at 527 nm (463 nm, excitation). Under the optimum condition, the membrane has a wide measuring range for alcohol samples. The membrane has been applied to determine the concentration of ethanol in alcoholic drinks with satisfactory results.