This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the most challenging, and still largely unsolved, aspect of chemical detection - the accurate resolution of individual species in real-world samples. Several important types of sensing instrumentation approach chemical-specificity by utilizing large arrays of relatively non-specific polymer-coated sensors. Synthesis of specialized polymers for such sensors is expensive, time-consuming, and limited to certain classes of polymer materials. There is a strong need for coatings exhibiting a higher degree of molecular recognition which can be fabricated in a simple, cost-effective process. Such coatings permit construction of highly specific arrays using a minimum number of sensors. Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop sensor coatings whose chemical specificity can be precisely tuned, and which are self-transducing. In Phase I this concept will be demonstrated by the construction and testing of a model sensor array. The results of these tests will then be used to construct a demonstration device for the detection of organophosphate pesticides in the presence of chemically similar interferents. These proposed coatings and coating process will improve the performance of virtually all polymer-based sensing instrumentation in demanding environments. Areas of application include environmental monitoring of toxic gases and quality control for fragrances and foodstuffs.
