Bioelectronic Nose Circuit With Microfluidic Membrane Selectivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic nose and tongue devices suffer from low sensitivity, poor selectivity, large size, high cost, and limited mobility, making them inferior to biological systems in sensitivity, dynamic range, and versatility.
Innovation Solution
An integrated circuit with microfluidic channels, ion-selective transistors functionalized with biological receptors, and a porous hydrophobic membrane is used to enhance sensitivity and selectivity, allowing detection of analytes down to ppt levels and enabling both gas and liquid analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional electronic nose and tongue devices use dissimilar chemical sensors with multiple physical principles, then they can detect various analytes, but they achieve low sensitivity (limited to 1-100 ppm range) and poor selectivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous silicon nanowires as the sensing element material. The porous structure provides high surface area to volume ratio, enabling enhanced interaction with analyte molecules. This porous silicon nanowire structure achieves sensitivity down to single ppt units while maintaining selectivity through the specific pore size and surface properties that favor binding to target analytes over other substances in the complex mixture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in electrical capacitance and vibration frequency as detection parameters. When analyte molecules bind to the porous silicon nanowire surface, these physical parameters change measurably. The system monitors these parameter changes to detect and identify analytes, achieving both high sensitivity and selectivity through the specific electrical and mechanical property changes that occur during analyte-receptor interaction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional devices use multiple dissimilar chemical sensors, then they can analyze various substances, but the device becomes large, heavy, and expensive, limiting mobile and autonomous use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensing functions into a single integrated device. Instead of using separate dissimilar chemical sensors for different analytes, the invention employs a unified porous silicon nanowire sensor array that can detect multiple types of analytes simultaneously. This integration is achieved through the multicomponent nature of the silicon nanowire material and the ability to functionalize different regions of the sensor array with different biological receptors, thereby reducing device size, weight, and complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous silicon nanowire sensor array serves as a universal detection platform that can analyze multiple types of analytes including volatile organic compounds, gases, and dissolved substances. The sensor array can be functionalized with different biological receptors (antibodies, aptamers, enzymes) to target specific analytes of interest, making a single device capable of performing multiple detection functions that would traditionally require separate specialized sensors.
3Area of stationary object
If traditional electronic nose devices use large sensing elements, then they can provide adequate detection area, but this limits the number of sensors and complicates the test substance delivery system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional sensor arrays to three-dimensional porous silicon nanowire structures. The nanowires extend vertically from the substrate, creating a three-dimensional sensing architecture that provides enormous surface area within a minimal footprint. This dimensional transformation allows thousands of sensing sites to be packed into a small volume, dramatically increasing detection capacity without proportionally increasing device complexity or requiring elaborate substance delivery systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device achieves sensitivity up to single ppt units, high selectivity, and rapid response, while being compact and cost-effective, suitable for applications in diagnostic medicine, food industry, military, defense, agriculture, and environmental protection.
Implementation Method 1
The first microfluidic channel has an inner surface and an outer surface. At least part of the first microfluidic channel outer surface is made in the form of a porous hydrophobic membrane
Implementation Method 2
at least part of the first microfluidic channel outer surface is made in the form of a porous hydrophobic membrane
Implementation Method 3
at least one sensitive surface pad of the said transistor is functionalized with at least one type of biological receptor for binding the analyte of interest
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to electronic devices for the high sensitivity and selectivity detection and identification of volatile compounds in a gaseous medium, as well as of dissolved compounds in aqueous solutions. The claimed integrated circuit is intended for detecting and identifying analytes in a multicomponent medium and comprises at least one first microfluidic channel integrated in at least part of the integrated circuit surface, at least one ion-selective transistor with a sensitive surface and a circuit for processing the transistor signals. Furthermore, the first microfluidic channel has an inner surface and an outer surface. At least part of the first microfluidic channel outer surface is made in the form of a porous hydrophobic membrane. Moreover, the sensitive surface of the ion-selective transistor is located in the first microfluidic channel under the porous hydrophobic membrane, and at least one sensitive surface pad of the said transistor is functionalized with at least one type of biological receptor for binding the analyte of interest. The present invention also relates to a device for detecting and identifying analytes in a multicomponent environment, comprising a substrate, the above-described integrated circuit located on top of the said substrate and an encapsulating layer on top of the integrated circuit. That said, at least one medium supply channel and at least the second microfluidic channel are located in the encapsulating layer in such a way that the second microfluidic channel is connected to the first microfluidic channel and the medium supply channel is located in the porous hydrophobic membrane region. The technical result achieved by the proposed invention implementation is to reduce the lower detection threshold of a «bioelectronic nose» or «bioelectronic tongue» type device, to increase its selectivity in the target compounds identification, to increase the system response rate and to reduce the analysis time in general.