SENSORS: Solid-State Imprinted Xerogel Arrays Integrated With Smart CMOS Detectors for Biological Agents

0330240 Titus The multidisciplinary research team at the University at Buffalo aims to develop new, portable integrated sensor/detector packages. It involves the following: [1] Develop new ultrastable protein imprinted xerogels that selectively recognize a given proteinaceous toxin, (e.g. Ricin, Botulinum toxin). [2] Produce protein imprinted xerogels with integrated emission sites (PIXIES) that transduce the proteinaceous toxin's presence within the xerogel. [3] Use the PIXIES-based sensors to construct sensor arrays for simultaneous multi-toxin detection in which the xerogels are directly written on low density, large device area, addressable arrays of III-N based solid state light emitting diodes (LEDs) [4] Develop silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) smart detector arrays and produce fully integrated CMOS smart array-based devices that will be battery powered, light weight, robust, fast and small. Furthermore, the research is enhanced by the fact that each component (PIXIE array, LED array, and CMOS detector array) is being developed with an understanding of how it will interact with the other components, thus ensuring that the entire sensor system operates optimally. The broader impacts of this work range from interdisciplinary training to societal benefits of developing sensors for toxins. Graduate and undergraduate students will be intimately involved in all aspects of the proposed work (from experiment design to the analysis of data and results to the crafting and submission of manuscripts for publication in the scientific literature and delivering professional lectures at scientific meetings). Students will gain training in state-of-the-art instrumentation, lasers, diagnostic tools, spectrochemical analysis, detector design, electronics, packaging, bioanalysis, synthesis, materials chemistry and processing, and chemical instrumentation design, development, and testing. This comprehensive level of student training will be a springboard for further studies (undergraduate students) or serve as the jump point into challenging and satisfying careers in academia, industry, or government installations (graduate students). A significant fraction of the students that will be working on the proposed research will be from under- represented groups (female). The entire research effort is multidisciplinary. All key results from this work will be widely disseminated by publication in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Students will participate fully in the drafting and submission of all manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Student co-workers will also prepare for and present their work at national meetings.