E-SCENT · Epidermal sensors as personal chemical environmental monitoring tools
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-06-01 → 2020-05-31
- EU contribution
- €175,866
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-RI
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Results in brief
Epidermal sensors as personal chemical environmental monitoring tools
The E-SCENT project focused on developing low-cost sensors for measurement of indoor air pollution. An estimated 4.3 million deaths occur each year from exposure to indoor air pollution. The average European spends 90% of their time indoors where exposure to air pollution can be substantially greater than exposures occurring outdoors. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a diverse group of chemical compounds present in indoor air that can frequently reach higher indoor concentrations compared to outdoors. Exposure to some VOCs can have serious health implications (e.g. asthma, nervous system impairment, cancer). Measurement of indoor air pollution is an integral part of exposure monitoring and human health risk assessment, but urgently requires development of appropriate tools to assist evidence-based public health and environmental measures due to the current dependence on outdoor air quality data. Current air quality sensor technology is largely constrained to sensing physical parameters, and while chemical detection of some airborne pollutants in private households is possible (e.g. carbon monoxide alarms, radon test kits), measurement of chemically diverse analytes (e.g. VOCs) remains reliant on high-end instrumentation. The E-SCENT project aimed to progress beyond the current state of the art by developing colorimetric sensor arrays for measurement of chemically diverse analytes in indoor air. Colorimetric sensors undergo a colour change in the presence of an analyte. This approach takes advantage of strong chemical interactions between a sensor and analyte and offers a simple, cost-effective and easy-to-visualise method for the detection of VOCs. The scientific objectives of this Marie Skłodowska Curie Action (MSCA) were to develop a colorimetric sensor array for measurement of VOCs in indoor air and to use this technology to monitor indoor air pollution with a focus on end-user activities. Another goal of the MSCA Individual Fellowship was to foster the development of the individual researcher.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The E-SCENT project aims to develop wearable chemo-responsive sensor arrays for personal monitoring of exposure to volatile airborne pollutants. Indoor levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be up to 1000 times higher than background outdoor levels, and can have serious harmful health effects. Measurement of exposure to airborne pollutants at the individual level is an integral part of human health risk assessment, but is currently reliant on macro-level air quality data and lacks the necessary tools for monitoring at the individual level. A number of personal environmental monitoring devices have recently emerged, but are constrained to sensing physical parameters. E-SCENT will advance personal environmental sensor technology by developing the first personal chemical environmental monitoring tool comprising an array of cross-responsive materials for colourimetric detection of VOCs in a wearable epidermal patch format to enable seamless collection of multi-parameter exposure data at the individual level. A diverse range of chemo-responsive dyes will be incorporated in porous matrices for deposition and encapsulation on stretchable conformable films suitable for integration with the epidermis. Sensor protypes will be developed and their deployment in a variety of indoor environments will enable chemical fingerprinting of ambient VOCs. Sensor colour change upon exposure will be quantitatively measured using smart phone image capture technology with image analysis software to examine sensor colour space and changes. Chemometric analysis of multidimensional colourimetric data will be used for classification of VOC exposure levels. E-SCENT will enable rapid low-cost data generation that will advance air quality research and will prove to be a key technology in informing exposure assessment, related health impacts and counter measures by informing policy development at local and European levels.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY · DublinCoordinatorIreland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union