| abstract |
Optical sensor formulations comprising polymeric sensing formulations and methods of predictably making optical sensor formulations, for, e.g., measuring O2 levels in patient blood samples. These formulations may be, e.g., deposited as a membrane on light-transmissive substrates. In an embodiment, O2-sensing formulations may be made by a process including selecting a first homopolymer comprised of first monomeric units, the first homopolymer having a first PermO2 value; selecting a second homopolymer comprised of second monomeric units, the second homopolymer having a second PermO2 value that is different from the first PermO2 value; and copolymerizing the first and second monomeric units to obtain a copolymer having an intermediate PermO2 value, i.e., between the two PermO2 values, the intermediate PermO2 providing the desired PermO2 for the desired oxygen sensing formulation. By adjusting the relative amounts of the first and second monomeric units, a series of polymers having a desired range of intermediate permeability values (and hence Stem-Volmer characteristic kSV values) may be obtained. |