Development of New Generation Gas and Vapor Sensors Using Organic Electronics

说明(申请人提供)：缺乏简单、廉价和高通量的暴露评估技术，限制了公共卫生专业人员发现环境和职业致病原因以及进行控制工作场所风险所需的暴露评估的能力。许多团体，包括NIOSH和国家环境健康科学研究所(NIEHS)，都广泛认识到开发和应用新技术进行暴露评估的必要性。纳米技术和材料科学的进步为基于有机电子电路的新型空气采样传感器技术的发展提供了独特的机会。场效应晶体管是电子电路的基本构件，而有机场效应晶体管(OFET)是由有机半导体(OSC)制成的晶体管。OSCs容易受到非共价相互作用、陷阱和掺杂、光激发、维度变形和其他轻微转变的影响。这些转换改变了半导体的电子输入-输出特性，这些输入-输出特性的变化可以用来检测和量化导致这些电子修改的化学和物理刺激。因此，OSCs是构建各种类型传感器的一个很有前途的新平台。这项研究的长期目标是利用有机材料技术开发廉价、紧凑、灵敏和可靠的气体/蒸汽传感器。在这一应用中，作为概念的证明，我们建议开发一种传感器，该传感器将能够检测各种职业和环境应用中的低浓度氨。我们将使用一种基于OFET的新技术来开发这些传感器。这些电路很有希望用作环境传感器，因为它们可以由各种材料制成，与环境介质具有特定的化学相互作用。到目前为止，这项技术还没有被应用于空气采样传感器的开发。虽然我们最初计划展示这项技术的氨传感能力，但这项技术的新颖性可能会扩展到任何气相或溶液相传感方案。为了实现我们的目标，我们提出了4个具体目标：在具体目标1中，我们将研究一系列有机材料，这些材料可以被整合到OFET传感器中，以响应氨。我们将选择最佳材料，开发印制电路传感器，以供进一步测试。在具体目标2中，我们将把在目标1中开发的多个敏感OFET集成到更高阶电路中，以实现协同响应，潜在地提高对氨以及最终对其他含氮化合物(例如芳香胺、尼古丁)的敏感性和特异性。在具体目标3中，我们将使用小规模仪器对目标1和目标2中开发的OFET采样器进行实验室测试，具体目标4将包括对采样器进行现场验证。如果成功，这一探索性研究项目将导致基于OFET的技术首次应用于空气采样。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The lack of simple, inexpensive and high throughput exposure assessment technologies has limited the ability of public health professionals to discover environmental and occupational causes of disease, and to conduct exposure assessments needed to control workplace risks. The need for the development and application of new technology to conduct exposure assessments is widely recognized by many groups including NIOSH and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Advances in nanotechnology and materials sciences offer unique opportunities for the development of new air sampling sensor technologies based on organic electronic circuits. Field-effect transistors are the basic building blocks for electronic circuits, and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are those made with organic semiconductors (OSCs). OSCs are susceptible to non-covalent interactions, trapping and doping, photoexcitation, dimensional deformation, and other mild transformations. These transformations alter the electronic input- output characteristics of the semiconductors and these changes in input-output characteristics can be used to detect and quantify the chemical and physical stimuli that cause these electronic modifications. Thus, OSCs are a promising new platform for the construction of various types of sensors. The long-term goal of this research is to develop inexpensive, compact, sensitive and reliable gas/vapor sensors using organic materials technology. In this application, as a proof of concept, we propose to develop a sensor that will be able to detect low concentrations of ammonia for a variety of occupational and environmental applications. We will use a novel OFET-based technology to develop these sensors. These circuits have great promise for use as environmental sensors because they can be made from a variety of materials with specific chemical interactions with environmental agents. To-date this technology has not been applied to the development of air sampling sensors. While we initially plan to demonstrate this technology's ability to sense ammonia, the novelty of the technology could potentially extend to any gas-phase or solution-phase sensing scheme. To accomplish our goal, we propose 4 specific aims: In Specific Aim 1 we will investigate a range of organic materials that can be incorporated into OFET sensors for their response to ammonia. We will select the optimal materials and develop the printed circuit sensors for further testing. In Specific Aim 2 we will integrate multiple sensitive OFETs developed in Aim 1 into higher order circuits for synergistic responses, potentially increasing sensitivity and specificity to ammonia, and ultimately other nitrogen containing compounds (e.g. aromatic amines, nicotine). In Specific Aim 3 we will conduct laboratory testing of the OFET samplers developed in Aims 1 and 2 using a small bench scale apparatus and Specific Aim 4 will consist of a field validation of the samplers. If successful, this exploratory research project will result in the first application of OFET-based technology to air sampling.