Flexible SERS textile for field chemical detection
This technology creates flexible membranes and textiles that can detect trace chemicals using a technique called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which amplifies the optical signal of molecules sitting on tiny metallic nanoparticles. The manufacturing process bonds arrays of microscopic pillars — each loaded with plasmonic nanoparticles embedded in a polymer — directly onto fabric or membrane substrates, then chemically etches away part of the polymer to expose the nanoparticles at the surface. The result is a durable, washable-grade sensing surface that can be woven into real-world materials rather than confined to a fragile lab chip. Because the nanoparticles are anchored inside a polymer matrix rather than sitting loose, the substrate survives handling that would destroy conventional SERS sensors.
What you could build
A flexible sensing membrane or smart textile that detects trace quantities of chemicals, pathogens, or drugs on contact — sold to defense/first-responder equipment makers for field detection patches, or to biomedical diagnostics companies for wearable or point-of-care test strips.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense primes and federal contractors (e.g., those supporting DHS, DARPA, or CBRN programs at Quantico or the Pentagon) would have direct interest in wearable chemical or biological threat detection enabled by this substrate.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Aditya GARG, Wei ZHOU
- Granted
- November 12, 2024
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 12140548
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.