A VOC Dosimeter Based On A Colorimetric Sensor Array

描述（由申请人提供）： 研究人员发明了一种非常简单但功能非常强大的新技术，用于检测和识别挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）：比色传感器阵列。这些都是廉价的，一次性的传感器阵列的基础上平衡相互作用的分析物与金属卟啉和其他化学响应染料。与人类嗅觉一样，我们的比色传感器阵列使用大量的交叉反应传感器，可以探测广泛的化学性质。通过数字化监测阵列中每种染料的颜色变化，他们可以定量测量对挥发性有机物的复合反应。化学计量学模式识别是非常强大的，因为它们的阵列非常高的维数。目前，研究人员正在将这项工作扩展到生物医学应用领域，具体目标是开发一种个人化学剂量计，用于检测、识别和量化环境/工作场所的挥发性有机化合物。阵列的灵敏度允许快速检测非常低水平的大多数挥发性毒物。这是一种转化技术，应该在工作场所监测化学品暴露中得到大量使用。他们在这些领域的努力应导致（1）在传感器开发方面取得根本性进展，用于分子识别和这种传感器阵列的生物医学应用，（2）开发和改进用于快速和连续识别和定量挥发性化学毒物的技术，最重要的是，（3）制作用于评估个人VOC暴露的极其便携式设备的原型;该设备将提供具有快速响应的环境暴露的连续、定量、可靠、可再现、多路复用测量（即，秒），基本上不需要用户干预现场部署和数据捕获。这种独立的，易于使用的设备将被证明是理想的多分析物测量接触点暴露于优先环境化学品，用于未来的人口为基础的生物医学研究的不同人群。该设备将能够连续测量分析物浓度，基本上不需要用户干预现场部署和数据捕获，并且能够实时遥测到中央系统。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The investigators have invented a very simple, but extremely powerful, new technology for detection and identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs): colorimetric sensor arrays. These are inexpensive, disposable sensor arrays based on equilibrium interactions of analytes with metalloporphyrins and other chemically responsive dyes. As with human olfaction, our colorimetric sensor arrays use a large number of cross-reactive sensors that probe a wide range of chemical properties. By digitally monitoring the change in color of each dye in the array, they have a quantitative measure of a composite response to volatile organics. Chemometric pattern recognition is extremely powerful with these arrays because of their very high dimensionality. the investigators are now extending this work to biomedical applications, with specific aims focusing on the development of a personal chemical dosimeter for the detection, identification, and quantification of environmental/workplace VOCs. The sensitivity of the arrays permits rapid detection of very low levels of most volatile toxicants. This is a translational technology that should find substantial use in workplace monitoring of chemical exposure. Their efforts in these areas should lead (1) to fundamental advances in sensor development for molecular recognition and biomedical applications of such sensor arrays, (2) development and refinement of technology for the rapid and continuous identification and quantitation of volatile chemical toxicants, and most importantly, (3) prototyping of an extremely portable device for the assessment of personal VOC exposure; this device will provide continuous, quantitative, reliable, reproducible, multiplexed measurement of environmental exposures with rapid response (i.e., seconds) that requires essentially no user intervention for field deployment and data capture. This self-contained, easy-to-use device will prove ideal for multi-analyte measurement of point-of-contact exposures to priority environmental chemicals for use within future population-based biomedical studies of diverse populations. The device will be able to measure analyte concentrations continuously, will require essentially no user intervention for field deployment and data capture, and will be capable of real-time telemetry to a centralized system.