Assignment No : 03 Applications of chemical sensors

Chemical sensors:

A chemical sensor is a device that transforms chemical information

(composition, presence of a particular element or ion, concentration, chemical activity, partial
pressure) into an analytically useful signal.

The chemical information, mentioned above, may originate from a chemical reaction of the
analyte or from a physical property of the system investigated. They can have applications in
different areas such as medicine, home safety, environmental pollution and many others.

Composition:
Chemical sensors usually contain two basic components connected in series: a
chemical (molecular) recognition system (receptor) and a physicochemical transducer. In the
majority of chemical sensors, the receptor interacts with analyte molecules. As a result, its
physical properties are changed in such a way that the appending transducer can gain an
electrical signal.

Applications of chemical sensors:

Environmental protection and monitoring, prevention and

treatment of disease and the continuous improvement of people’s quality of life are still the main
application areas of the chemical sensors in the foreseeable future. Nowadays, with new
challenges as well as new opportunities, the features of the chemical sensors trend are as follows:

Chemical Sensors for Environmental Monitoring:

Chemical sensors are expected to play a

critical role in environmental monitoring (both indoor and outdoor) and environmental control
(air, water), facilitating a better quality of life. The projected increase in global energy usage and
unwanted release of pollutants has led to a serious focus on advanced monitoring technologies
for environmental protection, remediation, and restoration.
Chemical Sensors for Homeland Security:

Chemical warfare agents (CWA), along with

biological and nuclear weapons, are considered weapons of mass destruction and as such their
detection is of great interest for homeland security. Chemical weapons are relatively easy to
produce, acquire, handle, and disperse when compared to nuclear and biological weapons.
Therefore their detection acquires greater significance in the context of international terrorism
and the ability of non-state actors to create mass causalities with minimal effort. Considerable
research has been performed to develop detection systems and methods that are inexpensive,
portable, and which achieve real time detection.

Glucose Detect:

The proper absorption of glucose in the body is biological important, and lack
of it can creat diabetes with the risk of renal failure ,routine and neutral complications. So for
diagnosis of diabetes the detection of glucose in blood is medically important which is done by
chemical sensors.
Sol-gel precursor mixture of 3-
glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilan
e with methyltrimethoxysilane
or
tetraethoxysilane and ionic
liquid methylimidazolium
hexafluophosphate provides a
unique
microenvironment for the
immobilization of GOx. GOx
adsorbed in hexagonal
mesoporous silica
retains its bioactivity and
stability [85-89]. LB (Langmuir
Blodget) film was employed for
GOx
immobilization because very
thin film in nanoscale might
produce a highly sensitive
sensor with ultra
fast response time. Conducting
polymers have been receiving
great and broad interests in
clinical
diagnosis of blood sugar [90-
96]. There are many advantages
of conducting polymers for
preparing
sensors like efficient transfer of
electric charge and considerable
flexibility of chemical structure.
Researchers also indicated
doping of redox enzyme within
polypyrrole.
Sol-gel precursor mixture of 3-
glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilan
e with methyltrimethoxysilane
or
tetraethoxysilane and ionic
liquid methylimidazolium
hexafluophosphate provides a
unique
microenvironment for the
immobilization of GOx. GOx
adsorbed in hexagonal
mesoporous silica
retains its bioactivity and
stability [85-89]. LB (Langmuir
Blodget) film was employed for
GOx
immobilization because very
thin film in nanoscale might
produce a highly sensitive
sensor with ultra
fast response time. Conducting
polymers have been receiving
great and broad interests in
clinical
diagnosis of blood sugar [90-
96]. There are many advantages
of conducting polymers for
preparing
sensors like efficient transfer of
electric charge and considerable
flexibility of chemical structure.
Researchers also indicated
doping of redox enzyme within
polypyrrole.
Sol-gel precursor mixture of 3-
glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilan
e with methyltrimethoxysilane
or
tetraethoxysilane and ionic
liquid methylimidazolium
hexafluophosphate provides a
unique
microenvironment for the
immobilization of GOx. GOx
adsorbed in hexagonal
mesoporous silica
retains its bioactivity and
stability [85-89]. LB (Langmuir
Blodget) film was employed for
GOx
immobilization because very
thin film in nanoscale might
produce a highly sensitive
sensor with ultra
fast response time.
pH Detection
A preliminary test with surface
charge field effect silicon
nanowire device as a chemical
sensor was
performed by detection of pH
level of the solution. [92, 97].
Fig. 12 shows the detection
result of pH
level by the silicon nanowire
sensor of 100 nm width and 6
µm lengths.
pH Detection
A preliminary test with surface
charge field effect silicon
nanowire device as a chemical
sensor was
performed by detection of pH
level of the solution. [92, 97].
Fig. 12 shows the detection
result of pH
level by the silicon nanowire
sensor of 100 nm width and 6
µm lengths.
Increases the rate of a reaction:

A catalyst is a chemical or substance that increases the rate of

a reaction without being itself consumed. Heat is liberated as a result of a catalysed reaction The
temperature related to the chemical reaction is measured, using a calorimeter Catalytic sensors
are widely used to detect to detect low concentrations of flammable ages Catalytic sensors are
also called pellistors.

Pellistors:

Pellistors are used to detect the presence of flammable gases Any combustible gases
present will oxidise on the catalyst bead, raising the temperature of the coil The change in
resistance is detected by comparing with an uncatalysed reference sensor.

High senstivity:

A variety of gas sensors used widely in environmental protection and

monitoring are highly valued, which are the mainstays of three mainstreams of chemical sensors.
High sensitivity, miniaturization, integration, and low cost are still the development tendency of
the gas sensors.

Biosensing technology:

As an important part of biology, the biosensor provides the important

support for the biological technology. It is not only an important aspect of the international
competition of high-tech but also a window to evaluate the biological level of a country.
Nowadays, the research on biosensor is strengthened in many countries to adapt to rapid
development of biology. Among them, the microarray technology dominated by the DNA or
cDNA biochip is one of the emphases for biosensor research. Nanobiosensing technology
formed by a combination of biosensing technology and nanotechnology would be a new growth
point of the biosensors, and a unprecedented new situation will be created based on the new
applications of the silicon and nonsilicon-based micro biosensor in biomedical, environmental
monitoring and instrumentation industries.

Nanotechnology:

The electromechanical sensor dominated by ion selective electrode (ISE) will

continue to trend to high sensitivity, low detection limit, fast response, and long-operating life.
The appearance of the new materials such as organometallic compound, organometallic polymer,
and macrocyclic compounds and their complexes represented by the metal porphyrin
(metalloporphyrins) offers a solid foundation for gradual perfection of all solid-state ion-
selective electrode, electrochemiluminescence (ECL), and photoelectrochemical sensor. Some
new technologies such as nanoparticle LB films, molecular imprinting technology (MIT), and
nanoelectrode arrays, and appearance of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) will make the electrochemical sensor vigorous
and exuberant and expand some new applications in environmental protection, food industry,
biology, and medicine.

Electronic nose and electronic tongue:

A new generation of bionic sensors, such as electronic

nose and electronic tongue, will be a new growth point of chemical sensor in the coming century.
It is an important aspect of artificial intelligence study to simulate the function of human bodies
and facial features (five human senses) to recognize various substances and environments
effectively. Since the breakthrough in taste sensor was obtained in the 1990s, the substances with
five major tastes of sweetness, sourness, bitterness, spiciness, and saltiness can be detected
quantitatively by using the multichannel technology. Further improvement of the taste sensor in
selectivity, repeatability, and durability will lead to more applications in the food industry to
improve the quality and quality control of beverages, fruits, and vegetables. Electronic nose is a
multichannel gas sensor array that provides an effective way to detect toxic gas, explosive gas, as
well as the released smell of drugs, explosives, and food.

Micro world:

With the development of solid-state and microelectronic technology and the

appearance of the MEMS sensors aiming for high precision, low driving, low power
consumption, small size and fast response, the chemical sensor will be turned over a new leaf,
and enters into an unprecedented “Micro world.”
References:

Introductory Chapter: What is Chemical Sensor? | IntechOpen

Lecture 9. Chemical Sensors In general, the aim of a chemical sensor is to measure the concentration of
a specific substance Substances to be sensed fall. - ppt download (slideplayer.com)

Application of Chemical sensors. | Download Table (researchgate.net)

Chemical sensors for environmental monitoring (spiedigitallibrary.org)