A consortium led by Stratophase and supported by a Technology Strategy Board grant has produced a low-cost biological and chemical sensor system.
Applications for the optical technology include medical diagnostics, food and beverage manufacturing, industrial process control and biohazard sensing for the medical/pharmaceutical and bioterrorism security sectors.
The GBP565,000 project, which was completed this summer, has developed a multi-wavelength sensing system for the detection of biological binding to coated surfaces and the measurement of liquid properties.
The Technology Strategy Board's investment provided half of the funding for the collaboration between Stratophase, Southampton University Optoelectronics Research Centre, Davin Optronics and Smart Fibres.
Stratophase technology was used as the basis for the project, with the objective of making grating-based refractive index sensing suitable for commercial use.
Dr Greg Emmerson, project leader from Stratophase, said: 'For operation in hostile environments the optical-based system produced by the consortium has significant advantages over traditional systems, whether dealing with flammable liquids or unstable temperatures.
'Using this technique, high-accuracy refractive index measurements, traditionally restricted to controlled laboratory conditions, can be taken out into the field.'
