Fluorescent Sensing and Logic Systems

One of the main principles underlying fluorescent sensors is based on PET (photoinduced electron transfer), according to which a switching ‘on’ of fluorescence in response to chemical analytes can be designed. Since its generalization in Colombo, Sri Lanka, it has now grown to involve 340 laboratories around the world. Some of these sensor systems are serving in critical care units in hospitals and in ambulances, performing blood diagnostics. These form the basis of a half-billion dollar industry. Other sensors visualize intracellular players. Yet others map species distributions in nanometric spaces near membranes. These spaces are too small for the tiniest silicon-based wireless devices to enter. Our introduction of molecular logic gates from Belfast, Northern Ireland, allows us to build more complex sensors and micro-object identification systems. More complex logic operations and even human-scale computations, e.g. edge detection of objects and outline drawing, are now achieved by molecular systems. 500 laboratories have contributed to this field so far. A short video is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLGnZDP5Ecg