The nose of a living organism acts as a biological molecule detector, sending signals to the brain to decode scents. Human noses have six million olfactory receptors, capable of distinguishing over one trillion scents. Some canine noses have up to 300 million receptors, providing heightened sensitivity in parts per trillion.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering have developed a small-scale system that creates three-dimensional patterns, serving as chemical “fingerprints” for identifying chemicals in solutions. The team, led by Principal Investigator Anna C. Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, along with lead author and postdoc Moslem Moradi, and postdoc Oleg E. Shklyaev, published their work in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Catalysts are highly selective, revealing the identities of reactants in a solution. By adding the right reactants, the resulting reaction generates a spontaneous flow of the fluid, which can bend and shape flexible objects immersed in the solution,” explained Balazs.
“By tethering flexible posts to the base of a fluid-filled chamber and coating them with specific enzymes, the added reactants will force the posts to bend in different directions, forming distinct visual patterns.
“Each reactant or combination of reactants produces a separate pattern, leaving a distinctive ‘fingerprint’ that allows us to identify the chemical composition of the solution,” Balazs added.
2024-03-05 18:00:03
Article from phys.org
