Nanotech Bomb Detector More Effective Than Trained Dogs

• A highly sensitive bomb-detecting device uses nanotechnology to identify different types of dangerous explosives. More reliable than bomb-sniffing dogs, the device is already attracting significant attention from security companies.
• We recently wrote about an electromagnetic system that could someday be used to detect dangerous substances from a distance. Now, a similar device that uses nanotechnology could soon be available for the commercial market.
  Current explosive-detecting technologies lack speed, require expert analysis and are too expensive for frequent application. "There is a need for a small, inexpensive, handheld instrument capable of detecting explosives quickly, reliably and efficiently," said Fernando Patolsky, a professor at Tel Aviv University.
  Researchers at Tel Aviv University's Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Chemistry have built the device, which is made from an array of silicon nanowires. The tiny wires are coated with a compound that bonds to explosive devices. Together, these elements form a nanotransistor.
  Each device is equipped with 200 individual nanosensors, and each unique sensor is able to detect different types of explosives. The different sensors work together to identify a large range of dangerous substances with high reliability and speed.
  The small, portable device is capable of accurately detecting different types of explosives at long distances (source: Tel Aviv University). 
  Particularly adept at detecting TNT, the sensor is more reliable than the bomb-sniffing dogs standard in any airport.
  The new detector is especially promising because of its portability and small size. It can be carried around by hand without compromising its sensitivity. Because it is capable of identification from a distance, it could also be mounted on walls. The sensor is more accurate than any bomb detector ever created, say the device's inventors. Amazingly, it has not had a single detection error to date.
  Security companies already have the low-cost device on their radar. U.S.-based Nanergy has developed a prototype of the researchers' patent and is working with potential partners to ready the device for the commercial market.
  The researchers, whose work was recently published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, hope their sensor could someday be tweaked to detect biological toxins such as anthrax and cholera. In addition to national security applications, the device could also be used for medical purposes.