EPFL scientists have developed a unique system that can be used for detecting and analyzing molecules with very a level of high precision and without using any bulky equipment. This latest development paves the way for large-scale, image-based detection of materials assisted by artificial intelligence. The study has been reported in Science.
Organic compounds are typically detected and analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, but this method calls for complex procedures as well as huge and costly instruments which make device miniaturization quite difficult and thus limits its applications in certain medical and industrial applications and for collecting data out in the field, for example, for determining the concentrations of pollutants. Infrared spectroscopy is also essentially restricted by low sensitivities and thus needs large amounts of samples.
Conversely, a research team from EPFL’s School of Engineering and Australian National University (ANU) has designed a sensitive and compact nanophotonic system that is capable of identifying the absorption characteristics of a molecule without using traditional spectrometry. The researchers have already detected organic compounds, polymers, and pesticides with their system, which can also be used with CMOS technology.
The novel system features an engineered surface which is surrounded with countless numbers of very small sensors known as metapixels. These metapixels can create a unique bar code for each molecule that the surface comes into contact, and using advanced pattern recognition and sorting technology (for example, artificial neural networks) these bar code can be extensively analyzed. This study – which turns out to be a meeting point of nanotechnology, physics, and big data – has been reported in the Science journal.
Image Credit: © 2018 EPFL
News This Week
X Marks the Spot: AI’s Treasure Maps Lead to Early Disease Detection
Medical diagnostics expert, doctor’s assistant, and cartographer are all fair titles for an artificial intelligence model developed by researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Their new model accurately identifies tumors [...]
Scientists Discover Method To Identify Alzheimer’s Disease Before It Progresses to Dementia
Researchers at Aarhus University have discovered a method to identify Alzheimer’s disease before it progresses to dementia, potentially opening up new avenues for treatment. A groundbreaking study could pave the way for early detection [...]
Startling Discovery: COVID-19 Virus Can Stay in the Body More Than a Year After Infection
The COVID-19 virus can persist in the blood and tissue of patients for more than a year after the acute phase of the illness has ended, according to new research from UC San Francisco that offers potential [...]
New bioengineered protein design shows promise in fighting COVID-19
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been racing to develop effective treatments and preventatives against the virus. A recent scientific breakthrough has emerged from the work of researchers aiming to combat [...]
Sugar-coated gold nanoparticles can quickly eliminate bacterial infections, no antibiotics required
If left to their own devices, bacteria on our teeth or wounded skin can encase themselves in a slimy scaffolding, turning into what is called biofilm. These bacteria wreak havoc on our tissue and, [...]
Liquid Lightning: Nanotechnology Unlocks New Energy
EPFL researchers have discovered that nanoscale devices harnessing the hydroelectric effect can harvest electricity from the evaporation of fluids with higher ion concentrations than purified water, revealing a vast untapped energy potential. Evaporation is a natural [...]
Unmasking the Illusion: AI-Generated Faces Challenge Perceptions
Research shows survey participants duped by AI-generated images nearly 40 percent of the time. If you recently had trouble figuring out if an image of a person is real or generated through artificial intelligence [...]
New Discovery Reveals How Cells Defend Themselves During Stressful Situations
Stress granules play a crucial role in the stress response, arising from the aggregation of non-translating mRNAs and proteins. Although significant knowledge exists about stress granules, the mechanisms behind their mRNA localization remain partially [...]
Leave A Comment