A new kind of spray is loaded with microscopic electronic sensors

[Indigophoton]

Potentially fascinating applications for these little sensors,

Talk about cloud-connected devices.

Using tiny 2-D materials, researchers have built microscopic chemical sensors that can be sprayed in an aerosol mist. Spritzes of such minuscule electronic chips, described online July 23 in Nature Nanotechnology, could one day help monitor environmental pollution or diagnose diseases.

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Sprayable sensors could someday detect gas leaks, pollution from power plants, volatile organic compounds and other air and water contaminants...

Being so tiny, the devices could also be injected into a person’s bloodstream to monitor its chemical composition for medical purposes — like a blood test that wouldn’t require drawing any blood, Kalantar-Zadeh says. Or chemical sensors could be taken as nasal spray or swallowed to track digestive health (SN Online: 1/8/18). Unlike silicon-based devices that might pose environmental or health hazards, the polymers and the minute amounts of 2-D materials used to make the new devices are expected to be more biofriendly, he says.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-kind-spray-loaded-microscopic-electronic-sensors

 

[Wonko]

Are there any 2-D materials in this universe? How would one gauge the potential environmental impact of such a thing if they have been created? How would a genuinely 2-D object interact inside a person?

Or do they mean "flat", but want to sound higher tech?

 

[Skycloud]

Might be a silly question, but what would immune systems make of theses things - could they cause problems for some people? Also it's all very well detecting pollution but there has to be the political and social will to do something about it.

Are there any 2-D materials in this universe?

They're telling fibs and they're not fooling us.

 

[Indigophoton]

Are there any 2-D materials in this universe? How would one gauge the potential environmental impact of such a thing if they have been created? How would a genuinely 2-D object interact inside a person?

2D in this context means the material is a single atom thick. So, yeah, still 3D if you go small enough. But pretty thin by everyday standards

The toxicity issue is still being investigated for different 2D materials (eg, graphene). I guess they will have to do safety trials once they have a gadget, as for any new device intended to work inside the body (pacemaker, stent, hip replacement...).

 

[TiredSam]

Or do they mean "flat", but want to sound higher tech?

If they'd said 1D they might have had a point.