<p>The sensor could be useful in detecting high exposures to toxic industrial chemicals that pose serious health risks at the workplace. <br /><br />While physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals. <br /><br />Senior study author Kenneth S. Suslick, chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UI-UC) and colleagues have created what they refer to as an opto-electronic nose.<br /><br />It is an artificial nose for the detection of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that is simple, fast, inexpensive, and works by changing colour. <br /><br />"By comparing that pattern to a library of colour fingerprints, we can identify and quantify the TICs in a matter of seconds," adds Suslick.<br /><br />"This paper brings us one step closer to having a small wearable sensor that can detect multiple airborne toxins," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), that is supporting the project. <br />The researchers say older methods relied on sensors whose response originates from weak and highly non-specific chemical interactions, whereas this new technology is more responsive to a diverse set of chemicals. <br /><br />The study was published in the September issue of Nature Chemistry. <br /></p>
<p>The sensor could be useful in detecting high exposures to toxic industrial chemicals that pose serious health risks at the workplace. <br /><br />While physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals. <br /><br />Senior study author Kenneth S. Suslick, chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UI-UC) and colleagues have created what they refer to as an opto-electronic nose.<br /><br />It is an artificial nose for the detection of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that is simple, fast, inexpensive, and works by changing colour. <br /><br />"By comparing that pattern to a library of colour fingerprints, we can identify and quantify the TICs in a matter of seconds," adds Suslick.<br /><br />"This paper brings us one step closer to having a small wearable sensor that can detect multiple airborne toxins," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), that is supporting the project. <br />The researchers say older methods relied on sensors whose response originates from weak and highly non-specific chemical interactions, whereas this new technology is more responsive to a diverse set of chemicals. <br /><br />The study was published in the September issue of Nature Chemistry. <br /></p>