Molecularly - Imprinted Based Sensors for Real-Time and Accurate Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds

Molecularly - imprinted based sensors for real-time and accurate monitoring of volatile organic compounds

 

Yue Deng,^1,2 Cheng chen,^1,2 Francis Tsow,¹ Xiaojun Xian,¹ Erica Forzani,^1,2*

¹Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors, Biodesign Institute; ²Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University, AZ,

*eforzani@asu.edu

Abstract: Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions. Some VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. To improve our understanding of indoor and outdoor personal exposures to common environmental toxicants daily released into the environment, new technologies that can monitor and quantify the toxicants anytime anywhere are needed. This presentation presents a wearable sensor to provide such capabilities. The sensing material is molecularly imprinted polymer, which is highly selective. The sensor combines the polymer and micro fabricated quartz tuning fork detector, it can communicate with a common cell phone through Bluetooth, and allows for accurate measurement of volatile organic compounds at personal level in real-time. Stable performance was validated using Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Selected Ion Flow Tube -Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) reference methods in a variety of environments and activities. Field tests were carried out to examine personal exposure in various scenarios including: indoor and outdoor environments, traffic exposure and personal exposure in different cities, countries, and near the 2010 Deep-water Horizon's oil spill. These field tests not only validate the performance, but also demonstrate the unprecedented high temporal and spatial toxicant information provided by the new technology.