Investigation of cocaine plumes using surface acoustic wave immunoassay sensors.
Vapor sensors, aka electronic noses, are becoming an increasingly popular analytical tool for detection and identification of small molecules in the gas phase. In this paper, we present the results of a series of experiments demonstrating real-time vapor phase detection of cocaine molecules. A distinctive response or signature was observed under laboratory conditions in which the cocaine vapors were presented using an INEL vapor generator and under "field" conditions facilitated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Crime Lab. For these experiments, the sensor component was a two-port resonator on ST-X quartz with a center frequency of approximately 250 MHz. On this cut of quartz, a temperature-compensated surface acoustic wave is generated via an interdigital transducer. Antibenzoylecgonine (anti-BZE) antibodies are attached to the electrodes on the device surface via a protein-A cross linker. We observed a large transient frequency shift accompanied by baseline shift with the anti-BZE coated sensor. After repeated experiments and the use of numerous controls, we believe that we have achieved real time molecular recognition of cocaine molecules.
Vapor phase SAW immunoassay sensors
In this paper, we present the results of a series of experiments demonstrating real-time vapor phase detection of cocaine molecules using immunosensors based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators.
Analysis of the Excitation and Detection of Piezoelectric Surface Waves in Quartz by Means of Surface Electrodes
The power extracted from a piezoelectric surface wave in quartz by an arrangement of electrodes on the surface is determined by a perturbation technique, which is extremely accurate for low‐coupling materials. The mechanical portion of the surface wave is found by neglecting the piezoelectric coupling, which is very small in quartz. The elastic solution then yields both volumetric and surface source terms, which are generated by the piezoelectric coupling and drive the steady‐state electrostatic solution. A technique is introduced for reducing the remaining electrostatic problem to Laplace's equation, subject to such boundary conditions that the solution is amenable to conformal mapping techniques for several interesting, and possibly useful, electrode arrangements. Surface waves propagating along the digonal axis for all rotated Y cuts are considered, as well as those propagating in all directions along the surface of an X‐cut crystal. A reciprocal relation between the excitation and detection problems i...