Electronically conductive, or ``conjugated,'' polymers can make sensors that detect a range of conditions, from changes in potassium in the blood during open-heart surgery to the presence of landmines, according to a University of Michigan assistant professor.
Jinsang Kim said the polymers have an unusual backbone structure, ``like a one-dimensional wire,'' that conducts electricity along its length. ``The conjugated polymer is more like a wired light - like Christmas lights,'' he said.
The polymer is fashioned into a film and used with light emitting diodes to make fluorescent sensing devices.
The sensors work by changes in the color or intensity of the light, which is caused by changes in the polymer chain, he said.
Kim is an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, and chemical engineering, at UM in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Kim spoke during a May 3 forum on polymeric sensor technology.