Towards an omnipotent “Artificial Nose”: detection and identification of alkylating agents using an optical sensor array

Alkylating agents are reactive, often simple, molecules that are frequently used in diverse fields such as medicine, agriculture, and organic synthesis. For over a century, some highly reactive alkylating agents are also being used as blister chemical warfare agents. The detection and identification of such alkylating agents is not a simple task because of their high reactivity and often simple structure. Here we report on a new approach for the detection and identification of such alkylating agents using a simple luminescence based array sensor that mimics the olfactory system. In order to demonstrate the potential of the approach, seven π-conjugated oligomers and polymers bearing nucleophilic pyridine groups, 1-7, were adsorbed onto a solid support and exposed to vapors of alkylators 8-15. Applying principal component analysis to the alkylation induced color shift patterns of the seven-spot array results with a clear discrimination of the different alkylators. The comparison of the data obtained from the sensor array with known response patterns allows the clear identification of the specific alkylator. The spots are sensitive to minute concentrations of alkylators and since the detection is based on the formation of new covalent bonds these spots saturate, within seconds even at about 50 ppb. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.