Published Date: 2/14/2025

Value Proposition: Portable and deployable platform that uses an AI-enabled, nanoparticle-based e-nose to sense explosive volatile organic compounds.

Technology Description

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a low-power electronic nose that uses an array of chemiresistors to detect signature patterns for multiple target species. Current chemical sensing technologies use amplifiers to amplify the signal, which requires a lot of power. This technology uses a scalable approach for generating a large chemical sensor array with functionally diverse nanostructured sensing elements that are robust, highly durable, & reproducible, and unlike other systems, can test for multiple chemicals.

Above figure: Schematic illustration of the chemiresistor functionalization chamber enabling the controlled delivery of 12 different organothiols to the sensor chip to achieve 9×9 array of distinct chemiresistors

Stage of Research

Prototype being developed

Applications

• Sensing explosive volatile organic compounds (funded project) and other dangerous materials
• Medical diagnosis
• Environmental quality monitoring
• Food production

Key Advantages

• Can broadly test for different species in the air
• Reliable and robust chemical sensing
• Signature patterns are unique to different gases
• Electronic nose operates at low power

Patents

Patent application filed

Related Web Links – Baranidharan Raman Profile; Raman Lab