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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio - Air Force researchers are
discovering just how useful natural materials may be in developing
bio-sensing capabilities for Air Force mission needs.
The Air
Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate
(AFRL/RX) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is conducting
ground-breaking research in how the molecular structures that make
up some of nature's most interesting materials interact with
non-biological materials to create effective, low-cost, and easily
manufactured sensing platforms.
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Researchers at AFRL/RX, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio,
have discovered ways to use bio-materials to develop low-cost,
robust, and easily manufacturable human performance sensing
platforms. Left - Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate research assistant, Yen Ngo, demonstrates how molecular changes to the body's chemistry can be detected using the natural material graphene,
a type of carbon with unique binding properties. Right - Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate research scientist, Steve Kim, displays a 3D model of graphene, a type of carbon that can be used in developing nanoelectronic sensors for human performance monitoring. (Image
created by USA Patriotism! from photos by U.S. Air Force photo by Michele Eaton)
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According to AFRL /RX research team lead, Dr. Rajesh Naik,
biological materials — like proteins — are unique in their
ability to transform themselves and interact with
non-biological agents to create capabilities that meet
military bio-sensing needs, like monitoring Airman
performance such as fatigue, cardiac function, stress, and
other biological markers in real-time, in a variety of
mission settings.
Peptides, a shorter version of a
protein, are highly selective and stable.
They can
be combined with sensitive nanomaterials like graphene or
gold to develop versatile sensing platforms capable of
achieving ultrasensitive, molecular detection of certain
biological or chemical signatures in the body.
“The
fundamental question for us is: ‘What are the materials
concepts that will help us develop robust, low-cost, easily
manufactured bio-sensing devices that the Air Force can use
in the field?'” said Naik.
The bio-sensing needs of
the Air Force are straightforward — commanders want
information to tell them the immediate physical status of an
Airman. Some of the body's chemical changes are miniscule,
but even the smallest differences can provide insight about
an individual's physical state, and serve as early
indicators of Airman performance during a mission.
“Just like in clinical diseases, a lot of information
resides at the molecular level. In some instances,
appearance of recognizable signs and symptoms of a disease
is a bit late. You could have caught that condition by
examining certain low-level biochemical signals,” said Naik.
Bio-sensing platforms have to be sensitive enough to
detect low-level signals yet robust enough to withstand
extreme temperatures and altitude. They need to be
comfortable, lightweight, and long-lasting enough to survive
an Airman's mission and inexpensive enough to manufacture
easily and within acceptable costs.
It's a tall order
and to meet it, AFRL/RX has partnered with AFRL's 711th
Human Performance Wing, as well as experts from several
industry and academic institutions, including Washington
University in St. Louis, and MC10, a company that provides
wearable, flexible electronic sensing expertise.
The
team is developing non-invasive platforms that include a
comfortable, long-lasting patch made from biocompatible
materials that can be printed with electronic sensors and
worn on the body for several days at a time.
Also
being developed are sensors made of lightweight, inexpensive
filter paper that optically detect miniscule changes in the
body's chemistry and a platform that uses graphene's unique
electronic capabilities to develop bio-sensing capabilities
that are selective for “state-of-the-body” markers they
detect.
To make it all work in a way that can be
translated onto the mission field, the team is also working
to perfect a portable hub for displaying changes in a
variety of bio-markers. It would need to be inexpensively
made, easily transported and able to be used with a mobile
platform, like a smart phone.
Certain natural
materials offer AFRL researchers and collaborators the
potential to control the chemistry needed for bio-sensing.
When researchers can control the chemistry, the potential
for selective, ultra-sensitive sensors expands
significantly. When it can be developed into a wearable or
disposable inexpensive device that Airmen can take with them
into the field, it becomes a game-changer.
What's next?
MC10,
in partnership with AFRL, is currently developing a
Perspiration & Temperature Cockpit Conformal Health monitor
(PATCH), a wearable system for real-time characterization of
sweating, temperature and activity, according to MC10 senior
program manager, Dr. Brian Murphy.
MC10 is developing an evidence-based understanding
of pilot response to physiologic and cognitive “overload” to
characterize pilot (physical and cognitive) performance, and
monitor and optimize physical and cognitive states and pilot
performance during prolonged operations in extreme
conditions. The PATCH can be integrated into a helmet,
under-arm and/or other body regions, and will monitor
sweating rates, sweat conductivity, skin temperature and
physical activity, as a function of time.
AFRL/RX is
also partnering with the Washington University in St. Louis
to develop a paper-based sensing device. According to Dr.
Srikanth Singamaneni, professor at the Washington University
at St. Louis School of Engineering and Applied Science and
researcher in nanomaterials for biology and medicine, the
collaboration is the perfect pairing of expertise in
nanomaterial sensing elements and bio-recognition elements
to create a low-cost point-of-need device.
“Building
on Naik's research team's long-standing expertise in
interfacing peptide bio-recognition elements with functional
nanomaterials, we successfully demonstrated a bio-plasmonic
paper device for rapid detection of troponin (an indicator
of cardiac function and muscle fatigue). More importantly,
we showed that our approach is far more superior compared to
a conventional method for plasmonic sensing applications and
can be used even in resource limited settings," said
Singamaneni.
“We've developed the materials
solutions,” said Naik. “Now the question is: what are the
limitations and what are the opportunities for such
platforms in military applications?”
By U.S. Air Force Michele Eaton
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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