Colorimetric Sensor Array for Determination and Identification of Toxic Industrial Chemicals

摘要

A low-cost yet highly sensitive colorimetric sensor arraynfor the detection and identification of toxic industrialnchemicals (TICs) has been developed. The sensor consistsnof a disposable array of cross-responsive nanoporousnpigments whose colors are changed by diverse chemicalninteractions with analytes. Clear differentiation among 20ndifferent TICs has been easily achieved at both their IDLHn(immediately dangerous to life or health) concentrationnwithin 2 min of exposure and PEL (permissible exposurenlimit) concentration within 5 min of exposure with nonerrors or misclassifications. Detection limits are generallynwell below the PEL (in most cases below 5% of PEL) andnare typically in the low ppb range. The colorimetric sensornarray is not responsive to changes in humidity or temperaturenover a substantial range. The printed arrays shownexcellent batch to batch reproducibility and long shelf lifen(greater than 3 months).