Natural polymers, such as the polysaccharides alginate and chitosan, are noted sorbents of heavy metals. Their polymer backbone structures are rich in ligands that can interact with metal ions through chelation, electrostatics, ion exchange and nonspecific mechanisms. These water-soluble biopolymer materials can also be processed into hydrogel thin films, creating high surface area interfaces ideal for binding and sequestering metal ions from solution. By virtue of their uniform nanoscale dimensions (with thicknesses smaller than wavelengths of visible light) polymer thin films exhibit structure-based coloration. This phenomenon, frequently observed in nature, causes the transparent and essentially colorless films to reflect light in a wide array of colors. The lamellar film structures act as one-dimensional photonic crystals, allowing selective reflection of certain wavelengths of light while minimizing other wavelengths by out-of-phase interference.

The combination of metal-binding and reflective properties make alginate and chitosan thin films attractive candidates for analyte sensing. Interactions with metal ions can induce changes in film thicknesses and refractive indices, thus altering the path of light reflected through the film. Small changes in dimensional or optical properties can lead to shifts in film color that are perceivable by the unaided eye. These thin films offer the potential for optical sensing of toxic dissolved materials without the need for instrumentation, external power or scientific expertise.

With the use of a spectroscopic ellipsometer and a fiber optic reflectance spectrometer, the physical and optical characteristics of biopolymer thin films have been characterized in response to 50 ppm metal ion solutions. It has been determined that metal interactions can lead to measurable changes in both film thicknesses and effective refractive indices. The intrinsic response behaviors of alginate and chitosan, as well as the responses of modified derivatives of these materials, have been investigated. It has been found that the natural metal selectivity of biopolymer films can be tuned and refined by adjusting the ligand environment through backbone modification. Other investigations have also been undertaken, including in situ monitoring of biopolymer–metal interactions and quantification of thin film metal-binding capacities.

[loc] Bossone 302 [/loc]