Multifunctional sensor system for high-throughput primary, secondary, and tertiary screening of combinatorial materials

Abstract

A modular multifunctional acoustic wave thickness shear mode sensor system has been designed and implemented for the rapid characterization of materials. The sensors are arranged as a 6×4 array and are compatible with available 24-well plates for manipulation with standard robotic equipment. The sensor system has two types of sensor enclosures including a gas-flowthough cell for studies of vapor-sorption properties and weathering of materials and a platform for immersion of sensors into 24-well plate arrays for studies of materials solubility. In addition, the sensor array design can be operated remotely from the rest of electronic components to decouple the environment of sensor array exposure (e.g., high temperature, pressure, chemicals). This sensor system has been used to screen sensor materials to emphasize (1) the magnitude of sensor response to the parameter of interest; (2) sensor specificity against environmental interferences; and (3) long-term stability. This work for the first time addresses all three aspects in sensor material development with a dedicated three-level high-throughput screening approach. The primary screen is the discovery screen where materials are exposed to a single analyte concentration. The secondary screen is the focused evaluation where the best subset of these materials is exposed to analytes and interference. The tertiary screen involves evaluation of material performance under conditions that mimic the long-term application. This approach can efficiently screen sensor materials not only for immediate performance but also for long-term stability thus providing significant saving of time in sensor development.