Ziel
By exploiting recent advances in the understanding of pheromone biosynthesis pathways and how pheromone molecules (a key category of so-called infochemicals) are detected and decoded in the insect nervous system we will develop a new class of technology for infochemical communication. In a novel approach to information and communication technology (ICT) we will first investigate, design and implement using microreactor technology, the biosynthesis pathways of infochemical production in the moth Spodop-tera littoralis.
This subsystem we term a "chemoemitter" (a microsystem capable of generating a precise mix of predefined synthesised compounds in programmable ratios of concentration). In parallel we will investigate, design and implement a complementary tuned detector of this volatile chemical mixture based upon principles of molecular detection in the receptor and antennal lobe neurons of the same animal (termed a "chemoreceiver") which is able to recover the ratiometric information deployed in the world. As a combined system this innovative chemoemitter/receiver will be capable of information transmission using chemicals alone and will form the basis of a new technological field for labelling, information transmission and bio-chemical interfacing. Chemical messages may be deposited on surfaces or transmitted through gaseous/liquid media.
Moreover, by controlling the volatility of the predefined pheromone compounds (by adjusting molecular chain length) it will be possible to transmit time-sensitive and time-registered information. As such we expect our approach and the technologies developed in this project to have long-term implications for automatic identification and data capture (AIDC), product labelling, search and rescue, data storage, unexploded ordinance and mine localisation, air silent communication, unmanned space exploration, medical diagnosis/treatment, therapeutic agents and environmental monitoring/control.
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STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectKoordinator
CV4 8UW COVENTRY
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