New Smart Sensor Could Revolutionize Crime and Terrorism Prevention

Oxford, University of. “New Smart Sensor Could Revolutionize Crime and Terrorism Prevention.” Forensic Magazine, Copyright 2018 Advantage Business Media, 9 Jan. 2018, www.forensicmag.com/news/2018/01/new-smart-sensor-could-revolutionize-crime-and-terrorism-prevention.

“New Smart Sensor Could Revolutionize Crime and Terrorism Prevention”, an article by Oxford University, describes how an innovation to the already global market of photonic sensors has just been innovated by Professor Jin-Chong Tan’s team of engineers in the Functional Materials and Composites Lab in the Department of Engineering at Oxford University. The specific material compounds the team is working with are known as Metal Organic Frameworks, and they potentially provide a low-cost way to protect society from crime and terror, provide biosensors for protecting against chemical poisoning and food contamination, and even serve as handheld medical devices for non-invasive diagnosis and therapy; however, the likely uses of this technology may go even further as to act as reusable light-up sensors that protect against certain explosives and toxic gases. What makes these Metal Organic Frameworks so versatile is that they are, as is often described of them, “solid molecular sponges” with the ability to soak up and respond to a wide variety of different solvents and gases. These devices contain porous frameworks of metal atoms bridged by organic linker molecules, and the key to the versatility of the MOFs is that these frameworks can be engineered chemically and physically to allow scientists to suit the functionality of the frameworks precisely to their needs. This is why the same properties that give the Metal Organic Frameworks the ability to sense poisons in chemicals and food contamination also allow these devices to serve as photochemical sensors inside diagnostic handheld breathalyzers for diagnosing conditions like diabetes. It is just a matter of time before Tan’s team, and eventually the rest of the world, figure out all of the different ways this device can make an impact. Tan is only beginning to realize the social impacts these MOFs can have in the healthcare field (ie breathalyzers), and it is only a matter of time that forensic scientists utilize MOFs for the many different fields and needs within forensics. A doctoral student and co-author of the study, Abhijeet Chaudhari, is beginning to make MOFs even more practical with his discovery of an unconventional strategy for fabricating revolutionary 2D nanosheets. MOFs might soon become thin-filmed electronics and sensing devices, practical for human protection against the invisible and dangerous molecular world.

If MOFs can be practical enough for individuals to wear on their clothing as well as a tool employed by police and security at airports, terrorism may ultimately become a non-issue as the “security” process at the airport never really stops. For example, after security, MOFs may be present throughout the airport on authorized personnel to sense for the presence of chemicals and gases from explosives or other weapons if someone were to try and smuggle them into the plane, MOFs might be scanned through people’s suitcases as luggage is loaded onto the conveyor belt to make sure nothing illegal is smuggled into another country. Even on the street, if people wear these sensors, they could be alerted to the presence of nearby explosives or other means of carrying out a terrorist attack before it happens. It all depends on the ability for the technology to be sensitive enough to detect the remote molecular trail left by these substances.

Overall, this was a very strong and well-written article. Oxford University describes the different applications of the device as well as the main principles behind the innovation thoroughly enough for the reader to get a sense of the magnitude of the MOF, yet simply enough (the explanation of the principles behind it was a couple of sentences) for someone not familiar with the field to understand, as it does not go too in-depth about how the organic linker molecules act or how scientists can manipulate them. One weakness of this article is that the headline leads the reader to expect a thorough explanation of how this device will protect people and help fight the war on terror, yet this was only briefly mentioned as just one of the many applications. To improve this article and provide a more vivid understanding of just how MOFs will work in a real life situation to fight terrorism, it should describe exactly what its function would be inside an airport, who can be stopped with the use of an MOF in real time (just terrorists with explosives or is it sensitive enough to detect the chemicals within a firearm on the street?), and how much more and in what way wearing an MOF will protect an individual (will it eliminate the need for firearms in America?)