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an array of electronic sensors and a mechanism for pattern recognition. An electronic nose is such an array of non-specific chemical sensors, controlled and analyzed electronically, which mimics the action of the mammalian nose by recognizing patterns of response to vapors. The sensors used in the device discussed here are conductometric chemical sensors which change resistance when the composition of its environment changes. The sensors are not specific to any one vapor; it is in the use of an array of sensors, each of which responds differently, that gases and gas mixtures can be identified by the pattern of response of the array. Electronic Noses have been discussed by several authors, and may be applied to environmental monitoring as well as to quality control in such wide fields as food processing and industrial environmental monitoring.
In the device designed and built for crew habitat air monitoring, a baseline of clean air is established, and deviations from that baseline are recorded as changes in resistance of the sensors. The pattern of distributed response of the sensors is deconvoluted, and contaminants identified and quantified by using a set of software analysis routines developed for this purpose. The overall goal of the program at JPL/Caltech has been the development of a miniature sensor which may be used to monitor the breathing air in the International Space Station, and which may be coordinated with the environmental control system to solve air quality problems without crew intervention.
though each individual sensor responds more selectively to a certain group of chemicals, they all show an overlapping response (this is called cross-selectivity ).How the electronic nose actually works is that, for each complex aroma, the array of sensors produces a unique response pattern -called a fingerprint- which reflects the aroma complexity of that sample. An electronic nose, therefore, acts more like a human nose in that it does not measure the amount of an individual aroma compound, but rather, gives a global and qualitative idea of the whole aroma profile. The electronic nose consists of two components, (1) an array of chemical sensors (usually gas sensors) and (2) a patternrecognition algorithm. The sensor array "sniffs" the vapors from a sample and provides a set of measurements; the pattern-recognizer compares the pattern of the measurements to stored patterns for known materials. Gas sensors tend to have very broad selectivity, responding to many different substances. This is a disadvantage in most applications, but in the electronic nose, it is a definite advantage. Although every sensor in an array may respond to a given chemical, these responses will usually be different. Figure 1.2 shows sets of responses of a typical sensor array to different pure chemicals: Acetone Benzene Chloroform
1.3 Recepters
In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs,
the receptor undergoes a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g.. Ligandinduced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.
volatile organic compound then processed by brain and We recognise the smell.
CHAPTER 2
2. COMPONENTS 2.1 Main components of electronic nose
Sensing System Pattern Recognition System
chamber housing the electronic sensor array.The tube may be of plastic or stainless steel.
A sample-handling unit exposes the sensors to the odorant, producing a transient response as the volatile organic compounds interact with the active material.
The sensor response is recorded and delivered to the Signal-processing unit. Then a washing gas such as alcohol is applied to the array for a few seconds or a
polymers, quartz crystal microbalance, surface acoustic wave, and field effect transistors. In recent years, other types of electronic noses have been developed that utilize mass spectrometry or ultra fast gas chromatography as a detection system.
The computing system works to combine the responses of all of the sensors, which
represents the input for the data treatment. This part of the instrument performs global fingerprint analysis and provides results and representations that can be easily interpreted. Moreover, the electronic nose results can be correlated to those obtained from other techniques.
An electronic nose can be regarded as a modular system comprising a set of active materials which detect the odour, associated sensors which transduce the chemical quantity into electrical signals, followed by appropriate signal conditioning and processing to classify known odours or identify unknown odours, see Using variants of molecules found in biology it is possible to create 'senses' from electrical charges caused by the binding of the molecules to mimic the human nose. With this approach, the sensitivity of the device can be a thousand times better than the currently available electronic nose. The receptors, which will be housed within an artificial membrane, remain in a closed steady state until approached by smell molecules, when they will open and transmit an electrical signal which will indicate the nature ofthe odour.
The human nose uses the lungs to bring the odor to the epithelium layer; the electronic nose has a pump. The human nose has mucous, hairs, and membranes to act as filters and concentrators, while the E-nose has an inlet sampling system that provides sample filtration and conditioning to protect the sensors and enhance selectivity. The human epithelium contains the olfactory epithelium, which contains millions of sensing cells, selected from 100-200 different genotypes that interact with the odorous molecules in unique ways. The E-nose has a variety of sensors that interact differently with the sample. The human receptors convert the chemical responses to electronic nerve impulses. The unique patterns of nerve impulses are propagated by neurons through a complex network before reaching the higher brain for interpretation. Similarly, the chemical sensors in the E-nose react with the sample and produce electrical signals. A computer reads the unique pattern of signals, and interprets them with some form of intelligent pattern classification algorithm. From these similarities we can easily understand the nomenclature. However, there are still fundamental differences in both the instrumentation and software! The Bionose can perform tasks still out of reach for the electronic-nose, but the reverse is also true.
Onboard the space station, astronauts are surrounded by ammonia. It flows through pipes, carrying heat generated inside the station (by people and electronics) outside to space. Ammonia helps keep the station habitable. But it's also a poison. And if it leaks, the astronauts will need to know quickly. Ammonia becomes dangerous at a concentration of a few parts per million. Humans, though, can't sense it until it reaches about 50ppm and then there's fire. Before an electrical fire breaks out, increasing heat releases a variety of signature molecules. Humans can't sense them either until concentrations become high. Astronauts need better noses.That's why NASA is developing the Electronic Nose, for short. It's a device that can learn to recognize almost any compound or combination of compounds. It can even be trained to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. Like a human nose, the ENose is amazingly versatile, yet it's much more sensitive .
Figure 1.1 EleINTRODUCTION TO SENSORS A sensor is a device which can respond to some properties of the environment and transform the response into an electric signal. The general working mechanism of a sensor is illustrated by the following scheme : In the field of sensors, the correct definition of parameters is of paramount importance because of these parameters: ~allow the diffusion of more reliable informationamong researchers or sensor operators, Figure 3.3 Comparison of human nose and electronic nose
CHAPTER 4
4. INTRODUCTION TO SENSORS 4.1 Definition
A sensor is a device which can respond to some properties of the environment and transform the response into an electric signal.
new standards, give fundamental criteria for a sound evaluation of different sensor performances. The output signal is the response of the sensor when the sensitive material undergoes modification
Figure 4.3 Sketch of the ceramic substrate chip containing eight sensors
piezoelectric sensors are electromechanical systems that react on compression, the sensing elements show almost zero deflection. This is the reason why piezoelectric sensors are so rugged, have an extremely high natural frequency and an excellent linearity over a wide amplitude range. Additionally, piezoelectric technology is insensitive to electromagnetic fields and radiation, enabling measurements under harsh conditions. Some materials used (especially gallium phosphate [2] or tourmaline) have an extreme stability over temperature enabling sensors to have a working range of upto 1000C.Tourmaline shows pyroelectricity in addition to the piezoelectric effect; this is the ability to generate an electrical signal when the temperature of the crystal changes. This effect is also common to piezoceramic materials.
Transverse effect
A force is applied along a neutral axis (y) and the charges are generated along the (x) direction, perpendicular to the line of force. The amount of charge depends on the geometrical dimensions of the respective piezoelectric element. When dimensions a, b, c apply, Cx = dxyFyb / a, where a is the dimension in line with the neutral axis, b is in line with the charge generating axis and d is the corresponding piezoelectric coefficient.
Longitudinal effect
The amount of charge produced is strictly proportional to the applied force and is independent of size and shape of the piezoelectric element. Using several elements that are mechanically in series and electrically in parallel is the only way to increase the charge output. The resulting charge is Cx = dxxFxn,
where dxx is the piezoelectric coefficient for a charge in x-direction released by forces applied along x-direction. FX is the applied Force in x-direction [N] and n corresponds to the number of stacked elements.
Shear effect
Again, the charges produced are strictly proportional to the applied forces and are independent of the elements size and shape. For n elements mechanically in series and electrically in parallel the charge is Cx = 2dxxFxn. In contrast to the longitudinal and shear effects, the transverse effect opens the possibility to fine-tune sensitivity on the force applied and the element dimension.
CHAPTER 5
5. Range of applications
5.1 Electronic nose for enviromental monitoring
Enormous amounts of hazardous waste (nuclear, chemical, and mixed wastes) were generated by more than 40 years of weapons production in the U.S. Department of Energies weapons complex. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is exploring the technologies required to perform environmental restoration and waste management in a cost effective manner. This effort includes the development of portable, inexpensive systems capable of real-time identification of contaminants in the field. Electronic noses fit this category. Environmental applications of electronic noses include analysis of fuel mixtures, detection of oil leaks, testing ground water for odors, and identification of household odors. Potential applications include identification of toxic wastes, air quality monitoring, and monitoring factory emissions. Sensors can detect toxic CO, which is odorless to humans.
Aside from identifying people from their skin vapours, another of the important applications of the newsystem is that it is able to detect tiny amounts of explosives. The system can "smell" levels below a few parts per trillion, and has been able to set a world sensitivity record at "2x10-14 atmospheres of partial pressure of trinitrotoluene. The "father" of ionisation using the mass spectrometry electrospray is Professor John B. Fenn, who is currently a researcher at the University of Virginia (United States), and in 2002 won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for using this technique in the analysis of proteins.
kept for 48 hours in the same container with a reference foodstuff, usually chocolate. The members of the panel then taste the chocolate and determine whether any off-flavor has been transferred to the chocolate from the paperboard being examined. Sensory evaluation of samples is very time-consuming and requires numerous trained people for the panel. For this reason, some other method to replace sensory evaluation has been sought. Currently, the biggest market for electronic noses is the food industry. Applications of electronic noses in the food industry include quality assessment in food production, inspection of food quality by odor, control of food cooking processes, inspection of fish, monitoring the fermentation process, verifying if orange juice is natural, monitoring food and beverage odors, grading whiskey, inspection of beverage containers, checking plastic wrap for containment of onion odor, and automated flavor control to name a few. In some instances electronic noses can be used to augment or replace panels of human experts. In other cases, electronic noses can be used to reduce the amount of analytical chemistry that is performed in food production especially when qualitative results will do.
substances are not very volatile, but we have developed an electronic nose' able to detect them", Juan Fernández de la Mora, of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Yale University (United Status) and co-author of a study recently published in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, tells SINC. The system, created at the Boecillo Technology Park in Valladolid, works by ionising the vapours with an electrospray (a cloud of electrically-charged drops), and later analysing these using mass spectrometry. This technique can be used to identify many of the vapour compounds emitted by a hand, for example. "The great novelty of this study is that, despite the almost non-existent volatility of fatty acids, which have chains of up to 18 carbon atoms, the electronic nose is so sensitive that it can detect them
instantaneously", says Fernández de la Mora. The results show that the volatile compounds given off by the skin are primarily fatty acids, although there are also others such as lactic acid and pyretic acid. The researcher stresses that the great chemical wealth of fatty acids, made up of hundreds of different molecules, "is well known, and seems to prove the hypothesis that these are the key substances that enable dogs to identify people". The enormous range of vapours emitted by human skin and breath may not only enable dogs to recognise their owners, but also help mosquitoes to locate their hosts, according to several studies.
CHAPTER 6
6.3 Advantage
Our human nose is elegant, sensitive, and self-repairing, but the E-nose sensors do not fatigue or get the "flu". Further, the E-nose can be sent to detect toxic and otherwise hazardous situations that humans may wish to avoid
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
Humans are not well suited for repetitive or boring tasks that are better left to machines. No wonder the electronic nose is sometimes referred to as a "sniffer". The E-nose has the interesting ability to address analytical problems that have been refractory to traditional analytical approaches. GOSPEL is a European network of excellence in Artificial Olfaction. In my view the electronic nose is a very useful instrument now a days.
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