
The electronic nose recently developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is based on a Polymer Carbon Sensing Array.It is designed to be used for Air Quality Monitoring in the space and to detect and identify common contaminants in the ppm range.It is consists of 32 conductometric sensors made from insulating polymer films loaded with carbon. In the current design it can detect 10 common contaminants which may be released into the re circulated breathing air of the space shuttle or space station from a spill or a leak. As in other array-based sensor devices, the individual sensor films of the ENose are not specific to any one analyte; it is in the use of an array of different sensor films that gases or gas mixtures can be uniquely identified by the pattern of measured response. So these complex response patterns require software analysis to identify the compounds and concentrations causing the response.
Currently it can detect Ammonia, Benzene, Ethanol, Freon, Formaldehyde, Indole, Methane, Mathanol, Propanol,Toluene, Medical Wipe and Relative Humidity. The sensors in the ENose are thin films made from commercially available insulating polymers loaded with carbon black as a conductive medium, to make a polymer-carbon composite. A baseline resistance of each film is established; as the constituents in the air change, the films swell or contract in response to the new composition of the air, and the resistance changes. Sensing films were deposited on ceramic substrates which had eight Au-Pd electrode sets.Six different polymers were used to make sensing film; each polymer was used to make 2 sensors for a total of 32 sensors.
I think we can modify this Electronic Nose to detect explosive materials and the Narcotic Drugs. Since the sensor array can detect air contaminants in parts per million range this would be very useful in security purposes in Air Ports. We modify the polymer that we are using and may be we can go even lower concentrations than this. So I hope one day guard dogs are replaced by these Electronic Noses.
Post new comment