Desk Report,
Wireless methanol sensor innovation will save lives
Australian scientists have developed a methanol breathalyzer that could prevent thousands of poisonings each year. Their experimental breathalyzer is capable of detecting small amounts of the toxic methanol in alcoholic beverages or on someone’s breath. Current methods for detecting methanol are often unavailable in areas where methanol poisoning is most common.
Wireless methanol sensor innovation will save lives
According to the international medical-humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, methanol poisoning is a major problem, affecting thousands of people each year and with a mortality rate of 20 to 40 percent.
Methanol is an industrial alcohol that looks and smells like regular beer, wine and spirits. But methanol can be deadly if it is found in alcoholic beverages during illicit brewing.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a wireless methanol sensor that is about one square centimeter in size. It can easily detect methanol in the vapors of alcoholic beverages or in someone’s breath, at levels below toxic levels.
The research article has been published in the American Chemical Society journal ‘Sensors’. The sensor is made from a highly sensitive and conductive material called graphene.
Associate Professor Dusan Losic, of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide, said: ‘Our sensor will show that methanol can be easily detected at very low levels.’ He added that the device they have invented is currently in experimental or prototype form. It is not yet commercially available. However, the materials used in it are cheap and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.
The research article has been published in the American Chemical Society journal ‘Sensors’. The sensor is made from a highly sensitive and conductive material called graphene.
Associate Professor Dusan Losic, of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide, said: ‘
