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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Grain Quality and Structure Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #369806
Research Project: Impact of Environmental Variation on Genetic Expression (phenotype) of Hard Winter Wheat Quality Traits

Location: Grain Quality and Structure Research

Title: A digital imaging method for evaluating the kinetics of vapochromic response

Author
item ABDOLMALEKI, MAHMOOD - Cornell University
item RIASI, M SADEGH - University Of Cincinnati
item ENAYATI, MOJTABA - Cornell University
item Norton, Amie
item CHATTERJEE, SAYANDEV - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item YEGHIAZARIAN, LILIT - Cornell University
item CONNICK, WILLIAM - University Of Cincinnati
item ABBASPOURRAD, ALIREZA - Cornell University

Submitted to: Talanta
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2019
Publication Date: 3/1/2020
Citation: Abdolmaleki, M.K., Riasi, M., Enayati, M., Norton, A.E., Chatterjee, S., Yeghiazarian, L., Connick, W.B., Abbaspourrad, A. 2020. A digital imaging method for evaluating the kinetics of vapochromic response. Talanta. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2019.120520.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2019.120520

Interpretive Summary: Vapochromic materials are a class of materials that exhibit color change upon exposure to volatile organic compounds such as pyridine or ammonia. The current method to monitor changes in vapochromic materials requires UV-visible absorption and reflectance spectroscopy, which is expensive and time-consuming. We developed a new method for recording the changes in vapochromic material upon exposure to volatile compounds using an iPhone and a new software program to interpret the data. This method allows for the low-cost, portable, and inexpensive analysis of vapochromic materials and can be applied to many routine analytical procedures in the laboratory and field. This study demonstrated the pplication of personal smartphones in scientific analysis of chemical reactions.

Technical Abstract: This work describes the novel use of a cell phone camera and the L*a*b method (color space defined by the International Commission on Illumination) to characterize the color change in different vapochromic platinum(II) complexes in order to get quantitative and more reliable data. In this study, we have developed a semi-automatic CCA software that digitally analyzes images (e.g., video frames) collected while a vapochromic material is absorbing vapor and changing its color. The advantages of using this method, compared to reflectance or transmission spectroscopy through a thin film, include its low cost, convenience, portability, ease of sample preparation, the lack of need for specialized equipment, and the possibility of simultaneously collecting data on different samples under identical conditions. The results show that this strategy is effective in producing quantitative information about the kinetics of processes.