Sensors for detecting analytes in fluids
First Claim
1. A sensor for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, said chemically sensitive resistor comprising:
- a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer, wherein said resistor providesan electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, andan electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm when contacted with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Chemical sensors for detecting analytes in fluids comprise first and second conductive elements (e.g., electrical leads) electrically coupled to and separated by a chemically sensitive resistor which provides an electrical path between the conductive elements. The resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions (comprising a nonconductive organic polymer) and conductive regions (comprising a conductive material) transverse to the electrical path. The resistor provides a difference in resistance between the conductive elements when contacted with a fluid comprising a chemical analyte at a first concentration, than when contacted with a fluid comprising the chemical analyte at a second different concentration. Arrays of such sensors are constructed with at least two sensors having different chemically sensitive resistors providing dissimilar such differences in resistance. Variability in chemical sensitivity from sensor to sensor is provided by qualitatively or quantitatively varying the composition of the conductive and/or nonconductive regions. An electronic nose for detecting an analyte in a fluid may be constructed by using such arrays in conjunction with an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the conductive elements of each sensor.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A sensor for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, said chemically sensitive resistor comprising:
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a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer, wherein said resistor provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and an electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm when contacted with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A sensor for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus, said chemically sensitive resistor comprising:
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a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer, wherein said resistor provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and an electrical impedance Zm at frequency ω
m when contacted with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1 and ω
m does not equal 0. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A sensor for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, said chemically sensitive resistor comprising:
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a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer, wherein said resistor provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and an electrical impedance Zm,n at frequency ω
m and temperature Tn when contacted with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, where m and/or n is an integer greater than 1. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, wherein said chemically sensitive resistor comprises a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer and provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and measuring the electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm, where m is an integer greater than 1, wherein said electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm is indicative of the presence or absence of said chemical analyte in said fluid.
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24. A method for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus, wherein said chemically sensitive resistor comprises a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer and provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and measuring the electrical impedance Zm at frequency ω
m, where m is an integer greater than 1 and ω
m does not equal 0,wherein said electrical impedance Zm at frequency ω
m is indicative of the presence or absence of said chemical analyte in said fluid.
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25. A method for detecting the presence of a chemical analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor with a fluid comprising said chemical analyte, said sensor comprising a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, wherein said chemically sensitive resistor comprises a mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic polymer and provides an electrical path through said mixture of nonconductive organic polymer and said conductive material, and measuring the electrical impedance Zm,n at frequency ω
m and temperature Tn, where m and/or n is an integer greater than 1,wherein said electrical impedance Zm,n at frequency ω
m and at temperature Tn is indicative of the presence or absence of said chemical analyte in said fluid.
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Specification