kV), which is not suitable for applications in the field. Whereas our sprayable nanofibers sensors only require compressed gas, making it possible to spray nanofibers even on non-conducting surfaces."
To enable true on-site detection and quantification of analytes with the Spray-n-Sense nanofiber sensors, the researchers also designed and developed a compatible smartphone-based application. This Android-based app is designed for on-site calibration with a representative color scale that can be used to calibrate the phone camera to the illumination conditions on-site for an accurate analyte detection and quantification.
The application performs on-site image analysis of the visually quantifiable color or fluorescence changes on the area of analyte exposure by calculating relative pixel intensity per ppm from photographs of the nanofibers exposed to the analyte.
"Combining the sprayable nature of the nanofibers and the phone-based application, our system can perform true point-of-analysis sensing providing both qualitative (change in color or fluorescence) and quantitative (intensity of signal) information by capturing digital photos of exposed nanofibers," says Kumeria.
He points out that the chromogenic dopants in the polymer matrix chosen for this work can be easily switched to make the sprayable sensors selective to different target analytes. For example, in this work, the same polymer backbone matrix was doped with three different dopants (chromogenic or fluorogenic) to the selectivity of the sensors towards target metal ions or ammonia.
The team is further investigating more specific dopants with high sensitivity and selectivity towards a range of chemical and biological analytes. They are also working towards a more compact nebulization device that can be carried in a lunch-box-sized package.
By
Michael is author of three books by the Royal Society of Chemistry:
Nano-Society: Pushing the Boundaries of Technology,
Nanotechnology: The Future is Tiny, and
Nanoengineering: The Skills and Tools Making Technology Invisible
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