Identification of Tobacco Types and Cigarette Brands Using an Electronic Nose Based on Conductive Polymer/Porphyrin Composite Sensors

C Henrique A Esteves; Bernardo A Iglesias; Takuji Ogawa; Koiti Araki; Lucélia Hoehne; Jonas Gruber

doi:10.1021/acsomega.8b00403

Identification of Tobacco Types and Cigarette Brands Using an Electronic Nose Based on Conductive Polymer/Porphyrin Composite Sensors

ACS Omega. 2018 Jun 30;3(6):6476-6482. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00403. Epub 2018 Jun 18.

Authors

C Henrique A Esteves¹, Bernardo A Iglesias^{1

2}, Takuji Ogawa³, Koiti Araki¹, Lucélia Hoehne⁴, Jonas Gruber¹

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Professor Lineu Prestes, 748, 05508-000 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
² Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Avenida Roraima, 1000, 97105-900 Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
³ Graduate School of Science, Department of Chemistry, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560 0043, Japan.
⁴ Centro Universitário UNIVATES, Av. Avelino Talini 171, 95900-000 Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Abstract

Three tobacco types (Burley, Flue Cured, and Oriental) and eight cigarette brands were unequivocally identified using an electronic nose formed by only three sensors based on a single novel conducting polymer (PF-BTB) doped with different porphyrins (H₂TPP, H₂TPFP, and H₂BTBOP). The synthesis and characterization of the polymer are also discussed. Small changes in the porphyrin structure caused significant changes in the electrical conductance response patterns of the sensors upon exposure to complex chemical matrixes, representing a novel approach for tuning the selectivity of chemiresistive sensors for e-nose application. This e-nose is fast, cheap, reliable, can be easily operated, and could be a valuable tool for border agents fighting cigarette smuggling around the world, helping them prevent losses of millions in tax revenues and sales.