New projects on sensor materials at Fraunhofer EMFT
Today sensors are taking over the function of a “sixth sense”: they detect parameters which defy human perception. To evaluate measurements this has always required complicated infrastructure and time intensive analysis. In the business field of sensor materials at the Fraunhofer EMFT sensor molecules are being developed at the Regensburg location which demonstrate the presence of selected substances via colour or fluorescent changes or through the change of electric parameters. The sensor molecules are integrated, depending on the application goal, into polymers, textiles, paint or particles. Such sensor materials can then be used either without electricity in miniature systems for the detection of gas, environmental parameters or also for quality control of foodstuffs and even in the detection of bacteria.
In the Regensburg working group protective clothing is being developed, which contains an integrated colour-change based danger detector. Currently the working group is working on the development of new colour-change based sensor materials for the detection of aldehyde to be later integrated into foodstuff packaging to check the freshness of foods containing fat. A fluorescent-based rapid test to be used on-site to detect multiresistant bacteria is also under development.
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