U.S.-Egypt Cooperative Research: Novel Highly Durable Sensors

描述：该奖项旨在支持阿拉巴马州奥本大学化学系Eric Bakker博士和埃及开罗国家研究中心应用化学系Mohammed Abbas博士之间的合作研究。他们计划探索将活性传感试剂共价固定在用于制造电化学和光学传感器的各种聚合物材料上，以检测阴离子，特别是卟啉、酞菁、金属酞菁及其衍生物。目标聚合物包括丙烯酸酯和甲基丙烯酸酯以及聚吡咯、聚苯胺或聚噻吩盐。活性传感成分的共价连接将使人们能够制造超小型但耐用的传感系统，其中活性成分的浸出不再限制这些器件的寿命。近年来，离子选择电极经历了范式的转变，发现它们可能达到极低的检测极限，通常在测量的总离子浓度的万亿分之一浓度范围内。需要在改进材料化学方面进行研究，以便更好地控制离子扩散性能，并最大限度地减少成分浸出到接触的水溶液中。这项研究为离子选择电极和微型光学传感器领域的众多电流方向奠定了基础。活性传感成分的共价连接将使这两个领域从传统的掺杂体系转变为具有独特性能的全聚合物材料。只有完成这一转变，基于这一技术的超小型传感系统才能真正实用。这项研究最终将有助于回答重要的问题：扩散系数的急剧降低将如何影响传感器的响应，特别是在零电流电位法中？考虑到理论上保持正常运行的渗透选择性的必要性，这类传感器的最终尺寸限制是多少？由于跨膜离子通量可以在很大程度上被消除，带有共价连接离子载体的传感系统是否会导致极低的检测极限？更广泛的影响：埃及和美国研究小组之间的合作研究将促进两国之间的科学关系。从更广泛的科学角度来看，这项研究对医疗保健和环境分析领域具有强大的影响，目前在这些领域中，化学传感器的使用速度超过每年10亿次。在这项研究的基础上，对基础化学进行重大改进，并在此基础上建立耐用的超小型传感系统的可能性，将导致在单细胞、生理样品、生物分析和环境样品监测方面的分析技术的重大突破。

0418004BakkerDescription: This award is to support a cooperative research between Dr. Eric Bakker, Department of Chemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama and Dr. Mohammed Abbas, Department of Applied Chemistry, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. They plan to explore the covalent immobilization of active sensing reagents for the detection of anions, especially porphyrins, phthalocyanines, metallophthalocyanines and their derivatives, onto a variety of polymeric materials used for the fabrication of electrochemical and optical sensors. Target polymers include acrylates and methacrylates as well as polypyrrole, polyaniline or polythiophene. The covalent attachment of active sensing ingredients will allow one to fabricate ultraminiaturized, yet durable sensing systems where the leaching of active components is no longer limiting the lifetime of these devices. In recent years, ion-selective electrodes have experienced a paradigm shift by the discovery that they may reach extremely low detection limits, often in the low parts per trillion-concentration range of total ion concentration measured. Research in improving the materials chemistry aspects is required for better chemical control of ion diffusion properties and the minimization of component leaching into the contacting aqueous solution. This research lays the groundwork for numerous current directions in the field of ion-selective electrodes and miniature optical sensors. The covalent attachment of active sensing ingredients will transform both fields from using traditionally doped systems to all-polymeric materials with unique properties. Ultraminiaturized sensing systems based on this technology will only be truly practically useful if this transition can be accomplished. The research will eventually help answer important questions: how will drastically lowered diffusion coefficients influence the sensor response, especially in zero-current potentiometry? What are the ultimate size limits of such sensors, considering the theoretical necessity of maintaining permselectivity for proper functioning? Will sensing systems with covalently attached ionophores lead to drastically low detection limits because transmembrane ion fluxes can be largely eliminated?Broader impacts: The collaborative research between the Egyptian and U.S. research groups will foster the scientific relationship between the two countries. From a broader scientific standpoint, this research has a strong impact on the health care and environmental analysis fields, where chemical sensors are currently used at the rate of over 1 billion measurements per year. A significant enhancement of the underlying chemistry and the possibility for the creation of durable ultraminiaturzed sensing systems on the basis of this research will result in important breakthrough in analysis techniques at the single cell level, in physiological samples, in bioanalysis, and in the monitoring of environmental samples.