For the first time, in this study, a novel optical fiber biosensor is proposed and developed via coating only
one smart functional layer of silica-supported carbon dots realizing the concepts of both lossy mode
resonance (LMR) and molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for epinephrine detection. The carbon
quantum dots (CQDs) are prepared using a green synthesis method and then treated with a molecularly
imprinted polymer (MIP) strategy. Under ultrasonic irradiation, a SiO2 shell was stabilized on the surface
of the CQDs to graft and to provide the LMR/MIP functional layer onto the curved optical fiber surface.
Accurate structural and morphological characterization confirmed the carbon quantum dot agents and
also the SiO2 supporting shells on the optical fiber, while spectroscopic analysis confirms the formation
of the imprinted polymer and desirable absorbance characteristics. The experimental and numerical
sensing studies revealed that the proposed sensing probe allows the rapid adsorption/desorption of
epinephrine to the sensing films and highly permeable coating for studying the influence of effective
parameters. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the sensitivity of the proposed LMR-based
optical fiber sensor is reported to be 0.37 nm mM−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. So, sensitive
detection of epinephrine at a low concentration can be guaranteed with a 0.72 mM LOD.