METAL-ION SELECTIVE SENSORS

A BIOMIMETIC APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPMENT OF METAL-ION SELECTIVE SENSORS IS BASED ON TECHNOLOGY, INCORPORATING AN IONOPHORE OR OTHER ION SELECTIVE SPECIES IN A LANGMUIR-BLODGETT (L-B) MEMBRANE. FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEMONSTRATING FEASIBILITY, THE L-B MEMBRANES CONTAINING VALINOMYCIN WILL BE INVESTIGATED. FOR COMPLEXATION TO OCCUR, THE VALINOMYCIN WILL BE DISPERSED IN SOME TYPE OF MATRIX SUCH AS A FATTY ACID (ARACHIDIC ACID, FATTY ACID DERIVATIVE, SPECIAL POLYMER). USING THIS APPROACH WE EXPECT TO ACHIEVE HIGH LEVEL OF ION SELECTIVITY TRANSFER THROUGH THE MEMBRANES. MODERN TRANSDUCERS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE INCORPORATED. WE WILL USE INTERDIGITATED ELECTRODES TOGETHER WITH CHEMICALLY SENSITIVE DEVICES, SUCH AS MOS, ISFET AND OTHER TRANSDUCERS. ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS WITH TWO OR THREE ELECTRODES ALSO WILL BE INVESTIGATED. AS A RESULT OF THIS WORK WE EXPECT TO DEFINE AND DESCRIBE THE MECHANISM OF THE TRANSMEMBRANE SELECTIVE ION TRANSPORT AND OF ION-INDEPENDENT ENZYMATIC REACTIONS. THIS STUDY, AS WELL AS EXPERIMENTAL WORK SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORKING PROTOTYPE OF A PRACTICAL AND COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED METAL-ION SELECTIVE SENSORS.