Chemical sensors based on cubic nanoparticles capped with an organic coating
AssigneeTechnion Research & Development Foundation Limited
InventorsHossam Haick, Ekaterina Dovgolevsky
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Abstract
The present invention provides a sensor apparatus based on 2D films or 3D assemblies of cubic nanoparticles capped with an organic coating. The apparatus is used to determine the composition and preferably measure the concentration of volatile and non-volatile compounds in a sample, with very high sensitivity. Methods for use of the apparatus in applications such as diagnosis of disease, food quality and environmental control are disclosed.
Claims19
A system having:
- (i) an apparatus comprising an array of chemically sensitive sensors comprising a plurality of cubic nanoparticle conductive cores, comprising six facets and capped with an organic coating, wherein the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating are ordered in a configuration selected from 1D wires, 2D films and 3D assemblies having minimized voids and essentially full interface contacts between adjacent facets of the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating, wherein the chemically sensitive sensors detect volatile and non-volatile compounds through swelling or aggregation of the cubic nanoparticles upon analyte adsorption thereon;
- and
- (ii) a learning and pattern recognition analyzer, wherein said learning and pattern recognition analyzer receives sensor output signals and compares them to stored data.
A method for determining at least one of the composition and concentration of selected volatile and non-volatile compounds in a sample, comprising the steps of:
- (i) providing a system comprising an apparatus comprising an array of chemically sensitive sensors comprising a plurality of cubic nanoparticle conductive cores, comprising six facets and capped with an organic coating, wherein the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating are ordered in a configuration selected from 1D wires, 2D films and 3D assemblies having minimized voids and essentially full interface contacts between adjacent facets of the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating, wherein the chemically sensitive sensors detect volatile and non-volatile compounds through swelling or aggregation of the cubic nanoparticles upon analyte adsorption thereon, and a learning and pattern recognition analyzer, wherein the learning and pattern recognition analyzer receives sensor output signals and compares them to stored data;
- (ii) exposing the sensor array of the apparatus to the sample;
- and
- (iii) using pattern recognition algorithms to detect the presence of volatile and non-volatile compounds in the sample.
An apparatus comprising:
- an array of chemically sensitive sensors comprising a plurality of cubic nanoparticle conductive cores, comprising six facets and capped with an organic coating, wherein the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating are ordered in a configuration selected from 1D wires, 2D films and 3D assemblies having minimized voids and essentially full interface contacts between adjacent facets of the cubic nanoparticle conductive cores capped with an organic coating, wherein the chemically sensitive sensors detect volatile and non-volatile compounds with sensitivity of less than one part per million (ppm) through swelling or aggregation of the cubic nanoparticles upon analyte adsorption thereon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.