Sensing chemicals in aqueous environments

A method of sensing one or more aromatic chemicals in an aqueous environment by an optical circulator comprising a first port comprising a laser diode, a second port comprising an array of photonic silica comprising a plurality of frustules, and a third port comprising a receiver, the method comprising:

• receiving of emitted light from the first port;
• reflecting at least a portion of the received emitted light to produce reflected light, the reflected light being produced, at least in part, by an interaction of one or more aromatic chemicals in the aqueous environment and the plurality of frustules;
• and
• transmitting the reflected light from the second port to the third port.

A system for sensing one or more aromatic chemical in an aqueous environment, comprising:

• a database configured to store aromatic chemical information relating to one or more of a known frequency of the one or more aromatic chemicals, a known wavelength of the one or more aromatic chemicals and/or a known intensity of the one or more aromatic chemical;
• a laser diode configured to produce emitted light;
• an array of photonic silica having a plurality of frustules, the array of photonic silica being configured to receive the emitted light, reflect at least a portion of the emitted light as reflected light, and transmit the reflected light, wherein the reflected light is determined, at least in part, by an interaction of one or more aromatic chemicals provided about the plurality of frustules;
• and
• a receiver configured to:
• receive at least a portion of the reflected light;
• measure one or more of an intensity of the reflected light, a wavelength of the reflected light and/or a frequency of the reflected light;
• compare one or more of the measured intensity, the measured wavelength and/or the measured frequency of the reflected light with the aromatic chemical information stored in the database;
• and
• detect one or more of the presence and/or absence of the one or more aromatic chemicals based, at least in part, on the comparing of the measured intensity, the measured wavelength and/or the measured frequency of the reflected light with the aromatic chemical information stored in the database.

A computer program product, comprising:

• a signal-bearing medium comprising computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processing units, operatively enable a computing platform to:
• receive a signal representative of one of more of an intensity of light, a wavelength of the light and/or a frequency of the light;
• compare at least a portion of the signal representative of one or more of the intensity, the wavelength and/or the frequency of the light with aromatic chemical information stored in one or more aromatic chemical databases;
• and
• detect one or more of the presence and/or absence of the one or more aromatic chemicals based, at least in part, on the comparing of at least a portion of the signal representative of the intensity, the wavelength and/or the frequency of the light with the aromatic chemical information stored in the one or more aromatic databases.