Researchers in the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering have come up with an idea of new “cell-based sensors-on-a-chip” technology. Although these chips are only few millimeters in size, it is said that these tiny inventions would provide a successful solutions to the problems caused by today’s biochemical detectors-such as low speed and inaccurate readings. These chips consist of two parts-collection of olfactory cells and an sensing circuits. When explosives or harmful pathogens are detected by these olfactory cells, the sensing circuit interprets the behavior of those cells and produce an output about the presence of those materials. Here are the some of the advantages of this technology
- These chips can detect the presence of explosives.
- Detect harmful pathogens like bacteria in food.
- Can detect the local origin of specialty foods like cheeses or wines.
- Speed up the research in basic science.
- Increase the cost-effectiveness and speed in developing new drugs by helping identifying the most suitable drugs.
Different cells can be grown on these microchips, depending on the task at hand. Like a bloodhound hot on the trail of a scent, a chip containing a collection of olfactory cells plus sensing circuits that can interpret their behavior could detect the presence of explosives.
The researchers plan to use other specialized cells much like a canary in a coal mine. The cells would show stress or die when exposed to certain pathogens, and the sensing circuits monitoring them would trigger a warning — more quickly and accurately than in present systems.
The researchers are tackling the many challenges that must be met for such chips to become a reality. Abshire, for example, is building circuits that can interact with the cells and transmit alerts about their condition. Shapiro and Smela are working on micro-fluidics technology to get the cells where they need to be on the chip, and to keep them alive and healthy once they’re in position. Smela is also developing packages that incorporate the kind of wet, life-sustaining environments the biological components need, while keeping the sensitive electronic parts of the sensor dry.
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