Several industrial, technological and biomedical sectors have the urgent necessity to keep the level of chemical and microbiological contamination in water and in work environments under control. Ideally, the control system should be capable of providing a result quickly and with time with a high level of sensitivity and specificity.
Current analytical laboratory techniques can satisfy these last two requirements, but they can’t perform detection in real time. In addition, the contaminants of interest usually aren’t in an isolated environment, but rather, in natural conditions where there could be the presence of interfering compounds/microorganisms and they could possibly be dispersed at low concentrations. The development over recent years in nanotechnologies, molecular biology and applied electronics, could facilitate the meeting the of these needs via their integrations.
The idea behind the SENSOR project has been the implementation of devices to enable the real time detection, in a simple, rapid, cheap and sensitive way the undesired agents that can affect a productive process/activity.
In particular SENSOR has developed innovative sensors, and multi-sensor platform, conferring high level of sensitivity for continuous and real-time monitoring of chemical and microbiological contaminants in air and water, and their integrations thereof in a unique, innovative and computerized platform for acquisition, management and sharing of data.
A project goal has been to develop innovative devices useful in risk assessments, management and communication; to overcome the current retrospective approach with a more preventive one; and to switch from a local to a global approach to risk, that extends to the entire supply chain, from uptake to the final user.
The key of the project success has been a highly specialized and competent partnership, characterized by 5 companies and 6 research organizations with different skills, that address the problem from 360 degrees. The devotion of each partner in the rationalization and industrial exploitation of research results, and their experiences of collaboration and sharing about project research activities and business initiatives, has been essential to the success.
The partners’ skills are complementary and facilitate the creation of an integrated system of: research, development and business management, guaranteening the realisation of the project's objectives, and resolving any problems relating to the commercialisations of products.