Photonic Colorimetric Sensor for Rapid Beverage Analyte Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting colorless and odorless chemical agents in beverages are reactive, time-consuming, require expensive equipment, and are not discreet, posing challenges for proactive detection before consumption.
Innovation Solution
A colorimetric sensor using a lamellar photonic material with alternating polymer layers, including a molecularly imprinted polymer, that changes color upon analyte detection, allowing for rapid and discreet identification of substances like GBL, GHB, and ketamine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical reagent composition is used for proactive testing, then detection capability is improved, but testing time increases and discreteness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs colorimetric indicators that undergo visible color changes upon binding to target analytes. This allows for rapid, visual detection without requiring complex instrumentation or lengthy analysis procedures, directly resolving the contradiction between detection capability and testing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses disposable test strips with pre-loaded reagents and indicators. These single-use devices eliminate the need for expensive, time-consuming laboratory equipment while providing reliable detection results quickly, addressing both the detection capability and time consumption issues.
2Reliability
If chemical reagent composition is used for proactive testing, then detection capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex laboratory analysis process into a simplified, portable test strip format. By isolating the essential detection function into a self-contained device with pre-loaded reagents and visual indicators, it maintains detection capability while dramatically reducing device complexity and eliminating the need for expensive equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The test strips are designed to be self-contained and self-operating. Users simply apply the test strip to the sample and read the results visually, without requiring trained technicians or complex instrumentation. This self-service approach maintains reliability while minimizing device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If testing apparatus are made discreet (e.g., incorporated into match, napkin), then ease of use is improved, but detection speed and reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The test strip design allows it to serve multiple functions: it can be used discreetly as a small portable device or in more formal testing scenarios. The universal design maintains detection reliability across different usage contexts while providing ease of operation and discreteness when needed.
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 sensor provides a rapid, discreet, and cost-effective means to detect chemical agents by changing color upon contact, enabling proactive identification without the need for specialized equipment.
Implementation Method 1
a refractive property of the photonic material changes, causing a detectable color change in the sensor
Implementation Method 2
The photonic material may be configured such that, when an analyte contacts the photonic material and becomes disposed within a cavity of the molecularly imprinted polymer
Data Source
AI summary
A colorimetric sensor for detecting an analyte of interest in a fluid sample includes a photonic structure comprising a first receptor, wherein the photonic structure may be configured such that, when an analyte contacts the first receptor within the photonic structure, a refractive property of the photonic structure changes thereby to cause a detectable color change in the photonic structure. The first receptor may comprise an optical absorber indicator, wherein a second receptor is part of a structure of the optical absorber indicator, such that, when the analyte contacts the second receptor, the analyte causes a photo-induced electron transfer to induce a color change of the optical absorber indicator.