Artificial nose capable of detecting nerve gas created

An electronic ‘nose’ has been created by scientists in Belgium to detect molecules found in pesticides and nerve gas.

Researchers created the detector using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — a class of crystalline materials previously used for gas storage, purification and separation and sensing applications.

Postdoctoral researcher, Ivo Stassen, who led the research at KU Leuven in Belgium, said: “We created a MOF that absorbs the phosphonates found in pesticides and nerve gases. This means you can use it to find traces of chemical weapons such as sarin or to identify the residue of pesticides on food. This MOF is the most sensitive gas sensor to date for these dangerous substances. The concentrations we're dealing with are extremely low: parts per billion - a drop of water in an Olympic swimming pool - and parts per trillion.”

MOFs consist of coordination bonds between transition-metal cations and organic ligands. Due to their extremely large surface areas and variable structures, they have broad industrial applications. They possess high mechanical and thermal stabilities. There is potential for this particular MOF to be placed on smartphones.

Professor Rob Ameloot, who led the research alongside Ivo Stassen, said this chemical sensor can easily be integrated into existing electronic devices. “You can apply the MOF as a thin film over the surface of, for instance, an electric circuit. Therefore, it's fairly easy to equip a smartphone with a gas sensor for pesticides and nerve gas,” he said.

Further research will look at other applications for this electronic nose. As MOF’s can measure very low concentrations, they could be used to screen someone’s breath for diseases such as lung cancer and multiple sclerosis at an early stage.

The research was published in Nature Materials.