Sensors for detecting analytes in fluids
First Claim
1. An array of sensors for detecting an analyte in a fluid, wherein each of said sensors comprise 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 plurality of alternating nonconductive regions comprising a nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material wherein said resistor provides;
an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material; and
an electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm when contacted with a fluid comprising said analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1; and
Rm in at least one resistor is different from Rm in at least one other resistor.
1 Assignment
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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
31 Claims
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1. An array of sensors for detecting an analyte in a fluid, wherein each of said sensors comprise 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 plurality of alternating nonconductive regions comprising a nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material wherein said resistor provides; an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material; and an electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm when contacted with a fluid comprising said analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1; and
Rm in at least one resistor is different from Rm in at least one other resistor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An array of sensors for detecting an analyte in a fluid, wherein each of said sensors comprise a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus, said chemically sensitive resistor comprising:
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a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions comprising a nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material, wherein said resistor provides; an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material; an electrical resistance in at least one resistor which is different from said electrical resistance in at least one other resistor; and an electrical impedance Zm at frequency ω
m when contacted with a fluid comprising said analyte, where m is an integer greater than 1 and ω
m does not equal 0. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An array of sensors for detecting an analyte in a fluid, wherein each of said sensors comprise 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 plurality of alternative nonconductive regions comprising a nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material, wherein said resistor provides; an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material; an electrical resistance in at least one resistor which is different from said electrical resistance in at least one other resistor; and an electrical impedance Zm,n at frequency ω
m and temperature Tn when contacted with a fluid comprising said analyte, where m and/or n is an integer greater than 1. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for detecting an analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor array with a fluid comprising said analyte, wherein each of said sensors comprise a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus and being in thermal communication with a temperature control apparatus, where said chemically sensitive resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions comprising nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material and provides, an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material, and measuring the electrical resistance Rm at temperature Tm where m is an integer greater than 1; and
Rm in at least one resistor is different from Rm in at least one other resistor;
thereby detecting the presence or absence of said analyte in said fluid. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A method for detecting an analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor array with a fluid comprising said analyte, wherein each of said sensors comprise a chemically sensitive resistor electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus, wherein said chemically sensitive resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions comprising nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material and provides an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material;
an electrical resistance in at least one resistor which is different from said electrical resistance in at least one other resistor; andmeasuring the electrical impedance Zm at frequency ω
m, where m is an integer greater than 1 and ω
m does not equal 0. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A method for detecting an analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
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contacting a sensor array 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 plurality of alternating conductive regions comprising nonconductive organic material and conductive regions comprising a conductive material compositionally different than said nonconductive organic material and provides an electrical path through said alternating regions of nonconductive organic material and said conductive material;
an electrical resistance in at least one resistor which is different from said electrical resistance in at least one other resistor; andmeasuring 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 analyte in said fluid. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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Specification