Explainable Deep Learning-Assisted Photochromic Sensor for β-Lactam Antibiotic Identification

Anal Chem. 2023 Feb 14;95(6):3309-3316. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04346. Epub 2023 Jan 30.

Abstract

Photochromic sensors have the advantages of diverse isomers for multi-analysis, providing more sensing information and possessing more recognition units and more sensitivity to external stimulations, but they present enormous complexity with various stimulations as well. Deep learning (DL) algorithms contribute a huge advantage at analyzing nonlinear and multidimensional data, but they suffer from nontransparent inner networks, "black-boxes". In this work, we employed the explainable DL approach to process and explicate photochromic sensing. Spirooxazine metallic complexes were adopted to prepare a multi-state analysis array for β-Lactams identification and quantitation. A dataset of 2520 unduplicated fluorescence intensity images was collected for convolutional neural network (CNN) operation. The method clearly discriminated six β-Lactams with 97.98% prediction accuracy and allowed rapid quantification with a concentration range from 1 to 100 mg/L. The photochromic sensing mechanism was verified via molecular simulation and class activation mapping, which explicated how the CNN model assesses the importance of photochromic sensor states and makes a discrimination decision. The explainable DL-assisted analysis method establishes an end-to-end strategy to ascertain and verify the complicated sensing mechanism for device optimization and even new scientific discovery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Deep Learning*
  • Neural Networks, Computer
  • beta-Lactams

Substances

  • beta-Lactams
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents