Fluorophore Composition for Non-Destructive Product Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-counterfeiting and product traceability systems are complex, difficult to use, and not sufficiently effective, as they often rely on temperature-dependent rare earth chelates that require cooling to observe emission changes, making them impractical and prone to counterfeit reproduction.
Innovation Solution
A composition comprising fluorophores with distinct quenching temperatures, allowing for easier differentiation and authentication through heating, which is simpler and less damaging than cooling, using fluorophores like AuSC14H29 and AuMMI that emit visible radiation and change color sequences with temperature increases, enabling non-destructive testing and authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rare earth chelates are used for anti-counterfeiting, then emission changes can be observed, but cooling to very low temperatures is required which makes the system complex and impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter range from cryogenic temperatures (4K-77K) to easily reachable temperatures (0°C to 100°C). This is achieved by selecting fluorophores with appropriate quenching temperatures that can be accessed with simple heating equipment rather than complex cooling systems, thereby maintaining authentication effectiveness while dramatically improving ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of cooling the system to observe emission changes (as in prior art), the patent inverts the approach by heating the system. The fluorophores are designed to quench at elevated temperatures rather than emit only at cryogenic temperatures, allowing observation of emission changes through simple heating rather than complex cooling
2Ease of manufacture
If fluorophores with close quenching temperatures are used, then the composition is simpler, but the quenching temperatures cannot be experimentally discerned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning distinct quenching temperature characteristics to different fluorophores within the composition. Each fluorophore is selected with a specific quenching temperature (e.g., first fluorophore quenches at T1, second at T2 where |T1-T2|≥5°C), creating locally differentiated thermal responses that enable precise temperature measurement while maintaining overall composition simplicity
3Reliability
If complex cooling systems are used to observe emission changes, then authentication can be performed, but the system becomes prone to counterfeit reproduction and less effective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the temperature parameter regime from cryogenic to easily reachable temperatures. By selecting fluorophores with quenching temperatures between 0°C and 100°C, the system eliminates the need for complex cooling equipment, making the authentication system both more reliable (harder to counterfeit) and less complex
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 composition provides a straightforward and cost-effective method for authenticating products by varying the response to easily reached temperatures, making it difficult for counterfeiters to replicate, and allowing for multiple color sequences that can identify product types.
Implementation Method 1
By fluorophore (i.e. a substance that emits radiation by means of a fluorescence mechanism) it is meant a luminophore which decays from a state of excitation
Implementation Method 2
By quenching temperature of a fluorophore it is meant the minimum temperature at which that fluorophore stops emitting, despite being in the presence of the cause of excitation
Data Source
AI summary
Composition comprising at least one first fluorophore, which has a first quenching temperature ranging from 0°C to 200°C, and at least one second fluorophore, which has a second quenching temperature ranging from 0°C to 200°C and that differs from the first quenching temperature by at least 5°C and emits light radiation at least at a distance of 5nm from the peak of emission of the first fluorophore; the particular trend of the colour variation of the composition irradiated by means of UV radiations as a function of the temperature is used to verify the authenticity of an object on which the composition has been applied.