Optical nanosensors: translation from prototype to practice
The market sees great potential in optical nanosensors, but the translation from prototype to practice is difficult. This step requires joining knowledge from various disciplines, such as nanotechnology, system technology, product development, network technology and user experience.
Three application areas for nanosensors
Within this project we brought these parties together. Nanotechnology companies and knowledge institutions have research questions about the practice-oriented application of nanosensing. Three cases have been formulated together with these parties, which yielded practical solutions and answered questions from SMEs:
- Measurement of ketones (acetone) on the skin, with which we can gain insight into the status of human cell metabolism, with the aim of controlling the blood glucose value
- Fire detection in an open field by measuring low concentrations of substances, including COx and NOx, in a sensor grid
- Lab-on-a-chip based detection of microorganisms by means of "Y-shaped" DNA on Micro Ring Resonator biosensors
Create knowledge base
This selection was based on the breadth of its application across multiple disciplines, the exemplary effect, social relevance and its application outside the scientific world. By merging different users and developers in one project, we created a knowledge base that enables the step from lab to practice. These applications have in common that they are aimed at detecting a group of certain molecules from a continuous gas or liquid flow. The optofluidic sensor is the constant factor there, the active detection layer is the variable that was investigated.
End result: practical systems and knowledge
The parties involved have gained insight into the application of three sensor systems as a practical measuring tool, resulting in three working practical systems that can be further developed by companies in the region into market-ready systems.