Electrochemical process and apparatus to control the chemical state of a material
First Claim
1. A detector for sensing the presence of a molecular species of interest, that comprises, in combination:
- a material whose properties change when said material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the molecular species, said material being subject to deterioration which affects the accuracy of the detector but which can be counteracted by injection of charge carriers into the energy bands of said material, means for detecting said change;
electric means serving as a source of charge carriers that are injected into said material to counteract the deterioration that occurs in said material, said material containing small amounts of an electroactive mediator to facilitate the charge transfer into the material; and
phonon generator means operable to direct very high frequency phonons into the material to facilitate acceptance of said charge carriers by the material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Process and apparatus to control the chemical state of a material. Bulk control of the chemical state of such material which permits maintenance of chemicals including enzymes by both restoration and stabilization. Optical and electrical power sources act in the presence of chemical mediators to control the rate of charge transfer to substances including metals contained in proteins, for example. Controlled charge transfer to the proteins enables construction of devices including small molecule detectors, e.g., electrically restored ferrous deoxyhemoglobin in a discrete component electrooptical circuit to monitor, for example, oxygen and carbon monoxide partial pressures. Restoration of chemical activity in molecules which have deteriorated enables construction of chemical reactors composed of stabilized catalysts and enzymes, e.g., restored functional nitrogenase in solar energy conversion devices which evolve molecular hydrogen or in chemical reactors which convert molecular nitrogen into ammonia. Control of charge transfer to molecular oxygen enables dose related in situ production of superoxide anion and other free radicals. Oxygen ion control enables low voltage processes suitable for the sterilization of microorganisms, including viruses and neoplastic tissue, and the destruction of poisonous chemical including toxins and polychlorinated organic molecules.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A detector for sensing the presence of a molecular species of interest, that comprises, in combination:
- a material whose properties change when said material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the molecular species, said material being subject to deterioration which affects the accuracy of the detector but which can be counteracted by injection of charge carriers into the energy bands of said material, means for detecting said change;
electric means serving as a source of charge carriers that are injected into said material to counteract the deterioration that occurs in said material, said material containing small amounts of an electroactive mediator to facilitate the charge transfer into the material; and
phonon generator means operable to direct very high frequency phonons into the material to facilitate acceptance of said charge carriers by the material.
- a material whose properties change when said material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the molecular species, said material being subject to deterioration which affects the accuracy of the detector but which can be counteracted by injection of charge carriers into the energy bands of said material, means for detecting said change;
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2. A detector for sensing the presence and amount of a molecular species of interest, that comprises, in combination:
- a sensing material whose properties change when said sensing material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the molecular species, said change occurring as a bulk change substantially over the whole volume of the sensing material, said sensing material being subject to deterioration which affects the accuracy of the detector but which can be counteracted by injection of charge carriers into the electronic states of said sensing material;
means for detecting said bulk change;
electric means serving as a source of charge carriers that are injected into said sensing material to counteract the deterioration that occurs in said sensing material;
an electroactive mediator intermixed in small amounts in the sensing material to form a composite material to facilitate the charge transfer into the sensing material; and
radiation means to irradiate said composite material to create excited electronic levels to permit and enhance charge carrier transfer into the electronic states of the sensing material. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
- a sensing material whose properties change when said sensing material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the molecular species, said change occurring as a bulk change substantially over the whole volume of the sensing material, said sensing material being subject to deterioration which affects the accuracy of the detector but which can be counteracted by injection of charge carriers into the electronic states of said sensing material;
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43. A detector to sense the presence and amount of a molecular species of interest in the environment about the detector, that comprises, in combination:
- a material whose optical density changes at a single wavelength when the material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding, that is, the optical density of the material changes as a function of the partial pressure of the species of interest in the vicinity of the detector; and
optical means for sensing the change in optical density at said single wavelength and adapted to relate said change to the partial pressure of said species in the vicinity of said material at each level of partial pressure as a continuous function of said partial pressure, said optical means comprising means to introduce light at said single wavelength to pass through said material and means to detect the light after it has passed through the material. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47)
- a material whose optical density changes at a single wavelength when the material is exposed to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding, that is, the optical density of the material changes as a function of the partial pressure of the species of interest in the vicinity of the detector; and
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48. A detector for sensing the presence of a molecular species of interest in the environment about the detector, that comprises, in combination:
- a sensing material of which at least one detectable property thereof changes when the sensing material is subjected to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the species of interest to the sensing material, the change in the detectable property being in the bulk of the sensing material and having a short time constant τ
c, the change being reversible in that the sensing material reverts to the original state when the molecular species of interest is removed, said sensing material being further subject to bulk deterioration which is a long term effect, having a time constant τ
o, which has an adverse effect on the accuracy of the detector, wherein τ
o >
>
τ
c ;
means to pass an electric current through the sensing material for introducing charge carriers into the sensing material to reverse said deterioration in the bulk thereof and return the sensing material to its original state;
an electroactive mediator co-extensive with said sensing material to form a composite material; and
means to introduce electromagnetic radiation to the composite material to facilitate the introduction of said charge carriers into the sensing material. - View Dependent Claims (49)
- a sensing material of which at least one detectable property thereof changes when the sensing material is subjected to the molecular species of interest as a consequence of reversible binding of the species of interest to the sensing material, the change in the detectable property being in the bulk of the sensing material and having a short time constant τ
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50. A detector for sensing a molecular species of interest, that comprises, in combination:
- sensing material having a property that changes when the sensing material is exposed to said molecular species as a consequence of reversible binding of said molecular species to the material, that is, there is no net chemical effect upon either said sensing material or said molecular species which is bound thereto as a consequence of said reversible binding, said sensing material being further subject to deterioration which adversely affects its detecting function, said deterioration being a net chemical effect;
sensing means operable to note a bulk change in said property and operable to relate the bulk change to the presence of the molecule of interest;
an electroactive mediator co-extensive with the sensing material; and
reset means operable to introduce charge carriers into the bulk of the sensing material, which charge carriers enter the energy states of the sensing material and counteract said deterioration by reversing said net chemical effect, said reset means comprising a source of such charge carriers and means to irradiate the sensing material and the electroactive mediator, the combined effect of the electroactive mediator and radiation from the means to irradiate being to facilitate introduction of charge carriers to the energy states of the sensing material.
- sensing material having a property that changes when the sensing material is exposed to said molecular species as a consequence of reversible binding of said molecular species to the material, that is, there is no net chemical effect upon either said sensing material or said molecular species which is bound thereto as a consequence of said reversible binding, said sensing material being further subject to deterioration which adversely affects its detecting function, said deterioration being a net chemical effect;
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51. A method of detecting the presence and the amount of a specific molecular species, that comprises:
- exposing a material to a fluid containing the molecular species of interest, said material being one whose properties change when the material is exposed to the species by virtue of reversible binding of the molecules of the species said material being a composite that includes a sensing material and an electroactive mediator, said material being one that is subject to deterioration;
sensing the magnitude of the change in the properties as a consequence of said reversible binding to sense the presence of the molecular species and the partial pressure thereof in the fluid;
directing radiation upon the composite material; and
introducing charge carriers to said sensing material to counteract any unwanted deterioration that occurs therein, said electroactive mediator and said radiation acting to facilitate the introduction of charge carriers to the sensing material.
- exposing a material to a fluid containing the molecular species of interest, said material being one whose properties change when the material is exposed to the species by virtue of reversible binding of the molecules of the species said material being a composite that includes a sensing material and an electroactive mediator, said material being one that is subject to deterioration;
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52. In a process wherein a chemical change is wrought upon a material as a consequence of it having been subjected to a reaction or reactions, the further steps of injecting appropriate charge carriers into the material to counteract unwanted deterioration thereof and cause the material to revert to a desired state, adding small amounts of an electroactive mediator to the material to facilitate charge carrier transfer thereto, the resulting material being a matrix material and the electroactive mediator, said electroactive mediator being taken from the group consisting essentially of dyes, quinones, free transition metals and other molecules with conjugated π
- -electron systems as well as other elements and complexes with d- and f- electrons capable of moving between two or more electronic states, introducing photons to the resulting material, the electroactive mediator being one which permits, in the presence of said photons, charge carrier transfer to the resulting material at an applied electric potential difference that is below the electrolysis potential of the resulting material, said matrix material containing an emphore that detects the presence of a molecular species by reversibly binding to the species and is changed in properties in the process of such reversible binding.
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53. A method of controlling a biological or a chemical process of a material that comprises introducing an electroactive mediator to the bulk of the material, directing radiation into the bulk of the material and introducing charge carriers to the bulk of the material and into the energy states thereof, the combined effects of the electroactive mediator and radiation being to facilitate introduction of charge carriers to the energy states of the material.
Specification