accuracies upon prediction of the sensed volatile,
especially for the discrimination of hydrocarbons or
for the distinction of the alcohols chemical class.
The gel production and sensing experiment was
reproducible, even though it was showed that the
films cannot be reused. Since the main morphological
changes happened after the first exposure to the set of
11 VOCs, the prediction accuracy increased for some
VOCs in the third exposure, e.g. chloroform.
The lack of birefringence and optical response
when using the controls without LC as sensor was
expected and reassures the key role of LC as the
optical probe. In turn, the importance of ionic liquids
with surfactant-like properties is also proved by the
control without IL, which detects VOCs but not in a
very consistent way due to the absence of droplets’
radial configuration.
Fish gelatin appeared as an alternative to bovine
gelatin to encapsulate LC/IL droplets and form
stimuli-responsive biosensors. Fish gelatin-based
films showed slightly higher capability to correctly
predict VOCs. Other biopolymeric matrices are being
investigated to create an array of sensors that
enhances selectivity for optoelectronic devices.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project has received funding from the European
Research Council (ERC) under the EU Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme (grant agreement No.
SCENT-ERC-2014-STG-639123). This work was
supported by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit –
UCIBIO, which is financed by national funds from
FCT/MCTES (UID/Multi/04378/2020).
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