Chemical Sensor Liquid Analysis via Gas Phase Pattern Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current liquid sample analysis using chemical sensors is limited by slow equilibrium at the liquid-solid interface, making pattern recognition ineffective and resulting in large, expensive apparatuses with low practical use for general public applications.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a chemical sensor with a receptor layer, where a liquid sample is immobilized and analyzed by supplying gases to induce changes in physical parameters, allowing for pattern recognition and statistical analysis to achieve high accuracy in liquid sample analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large number of high-sensitivity sensors are used to detect low-concentration biomarkers one-to-one, then detection sensitivity is improved, but device size and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection task by using a single chemical sensor array that can simultaneously detect multiple different substances through pattern recognition, rather than using one sensor per biomarker. This divides the complex detection problem into manageable patterns that can be analyzed computationally.
Solution Approach 2:
The chemical sensor array is designed to perform multiple detection functions simultaneously. A single sensor array can detect various volatile organic compounds and biomarkers by analyzing the collective response pattern, making the system universal rather than specialized for a single target.
2Measurement precision
If pattern recognition is applied to liquid sample analysis using chemical sensors, then analysis accuracy is improved, but the slow equilibrium at liquid-solid interface makes signal pattern acquisition difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase transition by evaporating the liquid sample to convert it from liquid to gas phase. This allows the sample to interact with the chemical sensor in the gas phase, where equilibrium is achieved much faster, thereby solving the slow equilibrium problem at the liquid-solid interface while maintaining the ability to perform pattern recognition for accurate analysis.
3Reliability
If biosensors detect target specimens one-to-one with antigen-antibody reactions, then detection specificity is improved, but the requirement for very high sensitivity increases the number of sensors needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection function across multiple chemical sensors with different receptor layers, each sensitive to different volatile organic compounds. Instead of using one sensor per target, the system divides the detection space into multiple sensory channels that collectively provide specific detection through pattern analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces volatile organic compounds as intermediary substances that mediate between the liquid sample and the chemical sensors. These VOCs evaporate from the liquid sample and serve as detectable intermediaries that carry information about the original sample composition, enabling indirect but specific detection without requiring direct antigen-antibody reactions.
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
This approach enables high-accuracy and high-distinguishing ability liquid sample analysis by leveraging gas-solid interface pattern recognition, reducing the need for extensive sensor arrays and improving analysis efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
This type of sensor generally detects a change in a physical parameter caused by adsorption of a detection target molecule (specimen molecule)
Implementation Method 2
for a gaseous sample, an equilibrium at a gas-solid interface is significantly faster than that for a liquid, indicating that pattern recognition is an effective method
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for analyzing a liquid sample that solves a problem of a kinetically slow equilibrium at a liquid-solid interface, the problem occurring when liquid sample analysis is performed with a chemical sensor. In the method for analyzing a liquid sample according to an embodiment of the present invention, a component to be analyzed in a liquid sample is adsorbed on a receptor layer of a chemical sensor, one or more kinds of gases are then supplied to the chemical sensor, and a response thereof is measured. As a result, since a slow equilibrium at a liquid-solid interface is not used, a high-sensitivity measurement can be performed in a short time, and existing findings regarding analysis of gas samples on which much progress in research has been achieved can be used.