Patent ID: 6730212
Filing Date: 2004-05-04
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A sensor for detecting a biological and/or chemical material in air, said sensor comprising:(a) a dielectric substrate; (b) interdigitated electrodes attached to said substrate; (c) a film layer applied on top of said interdigitated electrodes, wherein the film layer comprises a conductive polymer and a sol-gel derived material; (d) indicator biomolecules within said film layer; and (e) an instrument to measure an electric current flowing through said interdigitated electrodes; wherein the conductive polymer and the indicator biomolecules are encapsulated within the sol-gel derived material and are thoroughly dispersed throughout the film layer; wherein the film layer directly contacts the air and the interdigitated electrodes; wherein the sol-gel derived material is a first sol-gel derived material, and wherein the film layer is prepared by the following steps: (1) forming a C-gel by encapsulating the conductive polymer in a second sol-gel derived material; and (2) forming the film layer by co-encapsulating the C-gel and the indicator biomolecules in the first sol-gel derived material; and wherein the first sol-gel derived material is different than the second sol-gel derived material.