Sensoristic sciences is going to develop in fields traditionally far from those ones which stimulated its birth. In this paper the author describes a series of innovative application of sensors going from the archeometry to toxicology, operating both in situ and in lab.

A small, hand held, battery operated imaging infrared spectrometer, Sherlock, has been developed by Pacific Advanced Technology and was field tested in early 2003. The Sherlock spectral imaging camera has been designed for remote gas leak detection, however, the architecture of the camera is versatile enough that it can be applied to numerous other applications such as homeland security, chemical/biological agent detection, medical and pharmaceutical applications as well as standard research and development. This paper describes the Sherlock camera, theory of operations, shows current applications and touches on potential future applications for the camera. The Sherlock has an embedded Power PC and performs real-time-image processing function in an embedded FPGA. The camera has a built in LCD display as well as output to a standard monitor, or NTSC display. It has several I/O ports, ethernet, firewire, RS232 and thus can be easily controlled from a remote location. In addition, software upgrades can be performed over the ethernet eliminating the need to send the camera back to the factory for a retrofit. Using the USB port a mouse and key board can be connected and the camera can be used in a laboratory environment as a stand alone imaging spectrometer.

Full wave expression for the electromagnetic fields scattered by a rough interface between two chiral materials with laterally varying electromagnetic properties are obtained from generalized telegraphists equation for irregular media. The telegraphists equation are a set of coupled differential equations for the forward and backward wave amplitudes of the transverse components of the magnetic field and the electric field. They can be used to determine the electromagnetic near and far fields scattered above and below the interface. This has direct applications to the detection of chiral materials, the discrimination between different chiral media and the optimization of desired electromagnetic characteristics of artificial chiral materials. To derive the generalized telegraphists equations, no simplfying assumptions are made about the characteristics of the rough interface, the frequency of the source, or the locations of the source and observation points. Therefore, they provide advantageous starting points for deriving solutions to a broad variety of physical problems. In electrical engineering possible applications include integrated optic devices, polarization transformers, modulators and directional couplers. In all these applications, sub-wavelength fluctuations at the interfaces between the media can significantly affect the physical characteristics of the chiral structure. The analysis can be used in the detection, characterization and design of chiral structures consisting of complex media with engineering, biomedical, agricultural and biosecurity applications.

The present work describes a new sensing system for the detection of photosynthetic herbicides in water based on the use of the reaction centre (RC) isolated from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a purple bacteria. RC is a trans-membrane protein complex with one characteristic: stationary and excited states have different absorption properties. The presence of herbicides affects the path followed by the protein to return to the stationary state. Therefore the herbicides could be detected by monitoring the temporal changes of absorption following optical excitation. An optoelectronic system has been realised for this purpose. A diode at 860 nm and a hybrid photodetector are used as excitation source and detector, respectively. Optical fibres couple the optoelectronic system to a 5 cm-long cell containing the RC solution. The system has been used for the detection of five different photosynthetic herbicides: diuron, atrazine, terbutryn, terbuthylazine and simazine. The detection limit of every herbicide has been obtained: 0.5 μM for terbutryn, 1.0 μM for atrazine and terbuthylazine and 10 μM for diuron and simazine.

Smart textiles are defined as textiles capable of monitoring their own health conditions or structural behavior, as well as sensing external environmental conditions. Smart textiles appear to be a future focus of the textile industry. As technology accelerates, textiles are found to be more useful and practical for potential advanced technologies. The majority of textiles are used in the clothing industry, which set up the idea of inventing smart clothes for various applications. Examples of such applications are medical trauma assessment and medical patients monitoring (heart and respiration rates), and environmental monitoring for public safety officials. Fiber optics have played a major role in the development of smart textiles as they have in smart structures in general. Optical fiber integration into textile structures (knitted, woven, and non-woven) is presented, and defines the proper methodology for the manufacturing of smart textiles. Samples of fabrics with integrated optical fibers were processed and tested for optical signal transmission. This was done in order to investigate the effect of textile production procedures on optical fiber performance. The tests proved the effectiveness of the developed methodology for integration of optical fibers without changing their optical performance or structural integrity.

Odor sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is studied for detection of harmful gases such as ammonia and amine gases. The sensor was prepared by depositing the molecular recognition membrane on substrate coated with Au thin film using plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. It is found that the SPR sensor with acrylic acid membrane exhibited an excellent selectivity and high sensitivity for ammonia and amine gases.

A description is given of a preliminary approach to the use of a new generation solid state sensor based on the capacity of the sensor element to catalyze the photodegradation of various kinds of organic compounds and to monitor the consequent pH variation. The electron holes present in the TiO₂ structure are able to trigger an oxidative process involving substances present in the environment, in particular those ones that can be adsorbed on it. These characteristics make titanium dioxide a suitable material to be used as a sensor for measuring environmental permanency and consequent risks. According to an other approach radicals are considered as markers of risk and some sensors proposed for their determination.

Microorganisms pose numerous problems when present in human occupied enclosed environments. Primary among these are health related hazards, manifested as infectious diseases related to contaminated drinking water, food, or air circulation systems or non-infectious allergy related complications associated with microbial metabolites (sick building syndrome). As a means towards rapid detection of microbial pathogens, we are attempting to harness the specificity of bacterial phage for their host with a modified quorum sensing amplification signal to produce quantifiable bioluminescent (lux) detection on a silicon microluminometer. The bacteriophage itself is metabolically inactive, only achieving replicative capabilities upon infection of its specific host bacterium. Bacteriophage bioluminescent bioreporters contain a genomically inserted luxI component. During an infection event, the phage genes and accompanying luxI construct are taken up by the host bacterium and transcribed, resulting in luxI expression and subsequent activation of a homoserine lactone inducible bioluminescent bioreporter. We constructed a vector carrying the luxI gene under the control of a strong E. coli promoter and cloned it into E. coli. We have shown that it can induce luminescence up to 14,000 counts per second when combined with the bioreporter strain. In their final embodiment, these sensors will be fully independent microelectronic monitors for microbial contamination, requiring only exposure of the biochip to the sample, with on-chip signal processing downloaded directly to the local area network of the environmental control system.

We demonstrated the improvements of an optical biosensor system using a long range surface plasma resonance technique. As preliminary simulation results, we present the prism-based biosensor system with a broader operating range to improve the sensitivity for a wider the measurable reflective index range and a narrower absorbing peak. This proposed optical biosensor system could be used to implement a compact immunoassay device.

High-tech industries are often the cause of groundwater contamination that affects surrounding areas. While steps must be taken to prevent this type of contamination, high-tech industries should be able to procure the required amounts of high-quality groundwater for their manufacturing processes. The objective of the Advanced Environmental Monitoring System (AEMS) project is to develop a new integrated groundwater monitoring system based on innovative technologies in order to facilitate effective management of groundwater contamination in and around high-tech industrial facilities. It will be possible to use the biosensors developed in this project not only to monitor ground and other fresh water from various sources for contamination, but also to assess the toxicity and environmental hazards arising from industrial effluents. The AEMS project provides high-tech industries with the means to fulfill their commitments to modern society. Through this project they can pursue sustainable development, compliance with environmental regulations, responsible corporate citizenship, effective life-cycle management, and improved worker safety.

In recent years, we have developed an advanced environmental monitoring system (AEMS) containing the eco-sensor, which means a sensor for the measurement of environmental pollutants, based on lipid membranes for continuous monitoring of ground water in industry areas such as semiconductor factories. The AEMS project is composed of three work packages as follows, 1) Eco -sensor, 2) Prediction of plume propagation using a computer simulation technique, and 3) Environmental protection method. In this paper, we would like to focus on the study of the eco-sensor. We considered that modified lipid membranes serve as good models for cell membranes because they would be ideal hosts for receptor molecules of biological origin or disruptive environmental pollutants. Thus, we selected lipid membrane as a sensing element for environmental pollutants. We have already confirmed that the eco-sensor could detect a 10 ppb level of volatile organic chlorinated compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethylene in ground water. Here, we tried to apply the eco-sensor to measure other environmental pollutants containing pesticides and endocrine disrupting chemicals. We made a novel automatic bilayer lipid membrane preparation device and a new system for the continuous measurement of environmental pollutants in ground water.

This paper deals with the generation, measurement and control of micro liquid droplet jet in water. In connection with the development of a lipid membrane biosensor device for underground water pollution, a method of working liquid transportation by micro droplet jet has been proposed. The generation and the behavior of micro droplet jet have been investigated by the method of flow visualization. Experimental results show that the behavior of micro droplet is controllable by changing the driven pressure and the duration time of jet ejection. It is feasible to transport the working liquid to a given place by arranging the relative position according to the trajectory of droplet jet.

Biosensors in connection with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) can be applied in many fields of research. In this paper, the reduction in the size of ELISA utilizing micro-chemical reaction is described in a microchamber array chip, and also a micro-flow antibody chip. The chips were fabricated by micro electromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The quantitative determination of dioxins was performed by using the chips. Glass or polystyrene beads were used for immobilization of an antibody at these chips. The antibody-immobilized beads were introduced into micro-flow channel or microchamber. As a competitive ELISA, sample solution mixed with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated antigen, and non-HRP conjugated antigen was allowed to react in the microchamber or flow channel. As a sandwich assay, sample solution and HRP-conjugated antibody were sequentially added to the chamber. After the antigen-antibody reaction, addition of PBS buffer, hydrogen peroxide, and fluorogenic substrate produced the fluorescent dye. The resulting change in the fluorescence intensity was monitored by a fluorescence microscope.

Routine monitoring and long-term studies conducted in 19-years’ hydrologic cycle in the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (USCB), Poland, show extensive release to ground and surface waters of contaminant loads from mining waste. For simulation of the time-dependent changes of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) generation expressed as sulfate formation due to oxidation of ferrous sulfides occurring in solid phase of mining waste, models of supervised neural networks were used. It was found that with use of such a model, the time span in which the concentration of a contaminant will reach the permissible level or the process of its release will terminate could be evaluated with a precision sufficient for practical purposes (the relative error did not exceed 1%). The results of simulation of temporal and spatial contaminant concentration changes will be utilized as a basis for assessment of an extent of the environmental deterioration dependent on the duration of a waste disposal in the site. These analyses enable to obtain reliable models describing time-dependent changes of water quality in the vicinity of long-term contamination sources, which seems to be their most essential merit The models allow also to evaluate the duration of the adverse impact of a facility on the aquatic environment and to reduce the expenses on the monitoring through the reduction of a number of samples and analyses.

The use of simulation models to assess the exposure to chemicals is widely accepted. A highly sophisticated model, like SNAPS, includes the transport processes within the unsaturated soil zone and plants and therefore allows estimating plant contamination as a transfer pathway for health risk assessment due to oral uptake processes. Such models though need many specific data regarding chemicals, their application pattern and environmental data. Therefore, it is also of interest to strengthen the efforts in applying simpler models, like those classical models of Jury and deriving descriptors of the chemical behavior, to deduce a partial ordering of the chemicals of interest and from that derive a ranking probability distribution by application of order-preserving mathematical mappings. On the background of a brief discussion of the SNAPS and Jury models, this concept has been illustrated by an application in order to find probability distribution functions for different Triazine compounds.

In this paper we demonstrate high-power GaAs-based and InP-based superluminescent diodes (SLD) with tilted waveguides emitting in 8xx nm and 15xx nm spectral ranges respectively. The analysis of devices with different cavity lengths emphasizes the tradeoff between output power and spectral width. Power levels of about 200 mW for 820 nm SLDs and about 100 mW for 1590 nm SLDs have been demonstrated for longer cavity devices. Spectral modulation was less than 6-7% at 70-80 mW output power for both 8xx and 15xx SLDs. Simple model proposed for evaluation of spectrum modulation for both GaAs and InP devices based on semi-empirical approach is in agreement with experimental observations.

A fiber optic multimeter is presented, consisting of a platform for interrogating an array of absorption-based chemical sensors. It has been validated on a set of porphyrin-based materials having gas-sensor potential. Discrimination between different kinds of gases has been demonstrated.

Active open-path FTIR sensors provide more sensitive detection of chemical agents than passive FTIRs, such as the M21 RSCAAL and JSLSCAD, and at the same time identify and quantify toxic industrial chemicals (TIC). Passive FTIRs are bistatic sensors relying on infrared sources of opportunity. Utilization of earth-based sources of opportunity limits the source temperatures available for passive chemical-agent FTIR sensors to 300° K. Active FTIR chemical-agent sensors utilize silicon carbide sources, which can be operated at 1500° K. The higher source temperature provides more than an 80-times increase in the infrared radiant flux emitted per unit area in the 7 to 14 micron spectral fingerprint region. Minimum detection limits are better than 5 μgm/m³ for GA, GB, GD, GF and VX. Active FTIR sensors can (1) assist first responders and emergency response teams in their assessment of and reaction to a terrorist threat, (2) provide information on the identification of the TIC present and their concentrations and (3) contribute to the understanding and prevention of debilitating disorders analogous to the Gulf War Syndrome for military and civilian personnel.

In the solid waste (SW)disposal sites, in particular at the unlined facilities, at the remediated or newly-constructed units equipped with novel protective/reactive permeable barriers or at lined facilities with leachate collection systems that are prone to failure, the vadose zone monitoring should comprise besides the natural soil layer beneath the landfill, also the anthropogenic vadose zone, i.e. the waste layer and pore solutions in the landfill. The vadose zone screening along the vertical profile of SW facilities with use of direct invasive soil-core and soil-pore liquid techniques shows vertical downward redistribution of inorganic (macroconstituents and heavy metals) and organic (PAHs) contaminant loads in water infiltrating through the waste layer. These loads can make ground water down-gradient of the dump unfit for any use. To avoid damage of protective/reactive permeable barriers and liners, an installation of stationary monitoring systems along the waste layer profile during the construction of a landfill, which are amenable to generate accurate data and information in a near-real time should be considered including:(i) permanent samplers of pore solution, with a periodic pump-induced transport of collected solution to the surface, preferably with instant field measurements;(ii)chemical sensors with continuous registration of critical parameters. These techniques would definitely provide an early alert in case when the chemical composition of pore solution percolating downward the waste profile shows unfavorable transformations, which indicate an excessive contaminant load approaching ground water. The problems concerning invasive and stationary monitoring of the vadose zone in SW disposal facilities will be discussed at the background of results of monitoring data and properties of permeable protective/reactive barriers considered for use.

High-performance liquid chromatography with ultra violet and photo-assisted electrochemical detection (HPLC-UV-PAED) has been developed for the sensitive and selective detection of explosives in ground water and soil extracts. Fractionation and preconcentration of explosives is accomplished with on-line solid phase extraction (SPE), which minimizes sample pretreatment and enables faster and more accurate on-site assessment of a contaminated site. Detection limits are equivalent or superior (i.e., <1 part-per-trillion for HMX) to those achieved using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 8330. This approach is more broadly applicable, as it is capable of determining a wider range of organic nitro compounds. Soil samples are extracted using pressurized fluid extraction (PFE), and this technique is automatable, field-compatible, and environmentally friendly, adding to the overall efficiency of the methodology.

Emissions from vented sources are often important inputs for the development of emission inventories and contribute to local air pollution and global enhancement of greenhouse gases. Aircraft engines are part of these emission sources. A passive measurement technique such as FTIR emission spectrometry is more cost effective and faster in operation for the determination of the composition of hot exhausts of this kind than other measurement systems as e.g. in situ techniques. Within the scope of aircraft emission investigations the measurements were performed from a measurement van which is equipped with an FTIR spectrometer of high spectral resolution coupled with a telescope and a two-axis movable mirror for rapid orientation towards the emission sources. At airports the emission indices of CO2, CO and NO of main engines and auxiliary power units of standing aircraft were determined. The measurement time is about one minute. The accuracy is better than 30 % as found from burner experiments with calibration gases (CO and NO). The method is also applied to detect exhausts of flares and smoke stacks. Currently, a new scanning FTIR-system is developed. The system allows imaging of the exhaust gas and rapid automated alignment of the field of view. The goal of the new development is to measure aircraft exhausts during normal operations at the airport. The spectrometer is coupled with a camera giving an image of the scenery so that a rapid selection of the hottest exhaust area is possible. It is planned to equip the system with an infrared camera for automatic tracking of this area with the scanning mirror so that measurements of the exhausts of a moving aircraft are possible.

We propose a novel switchable circular-to-point converter (SCPC) device based on the holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) technology. An SCPC device converts the Fabry-Perot ring pattern into one point or point array, while an external electrical field on the SCPC will deactivate the conversion. By designing an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) ring-pixel pattern on the SCPC that match the Fabry-Perot circular interference pattern, we are free to select different single rings of Fabry-Perot ring pattern and convert it into different points that is easy to be detected or collected. Stacking different single SCPC elements will give us a random Optical Switch with application in Lidar detection and optical telecommunication.

As a means towards advanced, early-warning detection of microbial growth in enclosed structures, we have constructed a bioluminescent bioreporter for the detection of the microbial volatile organic compound (MVOC) p-cymene. MVOCs are produced as metabolic by-products of bacteria and fungi and are detectable before any visible signs of microbial growth appear, thereby serving as very early indicators of potential biocontamination problems. The bioreporter, designated Pseudomonas putida UT93, contains a Vibrio fischeri luxCDABE gene fusion to a p-cymene/p-cumate inducible promoter. Exposure of strain UT93 to p-cymene from approximately 0.02 to 850 ppm produced self-generated bioluminescence in less than 1.5 hours. The bioreporter was also interfaced with an integrated circuit microluminometer to create a miniaturized hybrid sensor for remote monitoring of p-cymene signatures. This bioluminescent bioreporter integrated circuit (BBIC) device was capable of detecting fungal presence within approximately 3.5 hours of initial exposure to Penicillium roqueforti.

A doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) was developed with a simple pumping configuration based on our optimized mode-to-pump design. The type II KTA OPO is placed in the cavity of a Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YLF laser. The linearly polarized Nd:YLF laser at the wavelength of 1053nm generates 6.5 Watts and 11.9 Watts arrange power in TEM₀₀ mode at the repetition rate of 1 and 3 KHz, respectively. We obtain the OPO average power of over 2 Watts with broadband tuning range from 1.7μm to 2.1μm at the repetition rate of 1 to 2KHz. The pulse width is less than 20ns. The maximum OPO energy of 2.5mJ per pulse is obtained at the wavelength of 1.9μm, where the pump energy is 6mJ per pulse and the pump-to-signal efficiency is 42%.

On March 14, 2003 an experimental aircraft fitted with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors connected to an air sampling system performed a 90-minute flight over Renton, Washington, demonstrating the first-ever use of SPR sensors for airborne biodetection. In this paper, we describe the instrumentation constructed for this purpose, the experiment conducted, and the results obtained. Instrumentation was based on Texas Instruments’ Spreeta SPR sensors combined with sample collection and fluidic apparatus designed for airborne sensing. Detection targets were two innocuous proteins ovalbumin and horseradish peroxidase. We describe future enhancements necessary to apply this technology on an unmanned airborne vehicle.