Portable device for colorimetric or fluorometric analysis, and method of conducting colorimetric or fluorometric analysis

1. A method of conducting colorimetric or fluorometric analysis, the method comprising:

exposing a linear array of optically-responsive chemical sensing elements to a fluid comprising an analyte, the linear array consisting of a single linear array;

impinging light on the linear array and detecting a spectral response of the chemical sensing elements by activating a color contact image sensor in optical communication with the linear array, the color contact image sensor being immovable relative to the linear array; and

determining an exposed color of each of the chemical sensing elements.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to exposing the linear array to the fluid comprising the analyte, impinging light on the linear array and detecting a spectral response of the chemical sensing elements;

determining a pre-exposure color of each of the chemical sensing elements;

subtracting the pre-exposure color from the exposed color to determine a changed color of each of the chemical sensing elements; and

creating a difference map showing the changed color of each of the chemical sensing elements.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the color contact image sensor comprises red, green and blue light-emitting diodes.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the color contact image sensor further comprises an ultraviolet light emission source or an amber light emission source.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optically-responsive chemical sensing elements comprise colorimetric or fluorometric sensing elements.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyte comprises a toxic industrial chemical and/or a volatile organic compound.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the toxic industrial chemical is selected from the group consisting of: ammonia, arsine, chlorine, diborane, dimethylamine, fluorine, formaldehyde, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen sulfide, hydrazine, methylamine, methyl hydrazine, nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, phosgene, phosphine, sulfur dioxide, and trimethylamine.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the volatile organic compound is selected from the group consisting of: acetaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, methanol, ethanol, propanol, benzene, xylene, toluene, nitromethane, ethylene, and propylene.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprising the analyte comprises a gas, an aqueous solvent and/or an organic solvent.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing the linear array to the fluid comprising the analyte occurs for a time duration ranging from about 1 second to about 10 minutes.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein impinging the light, detecting the spectral response, and determining the exposed color defines a scan, and wherein a plurality of scans are carried out during the exposure of the linear array to the fluid.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the scans are carried out at a frequency from about 0.2 Hz to about 100 Hz.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to exposing the linear array to the fluid comprising the analyte, pre-processing the fluid using a process selected from the group consisting of: pre-oxidation, acid hydrolysis, gas separation, and phase transduction.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring one or more characteristics of the fluid comprising the analyte after exposing the linear array to the analyte.

15. The method of claim 1 carried out using a portable device.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the portable device comprises:

a housing containing the linear array of optically-responsive chemical sensing elements, the housing including an inlet and an outlet for flow of the fluid comprising the analyte therethrough;

a color contact image sensor in optical communication with the linear array for impinging the light and detecting the spectral response; and

electronics connected to the color contact image sensor for analyzing spectral response data.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the linear array of optically-responsive chemical sensing elements is contained within a sealed cartridge in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet to the housing.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the housing further comprises a parallel analysis unit adjacent to the sealed cartridge between the inlet and the outlet for analysis of a portion of the analyte flowed into the inlet.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the portable device does not include a moving sensor bar, the color contact image sensor thereby being immovable relative to the linear array of optically-responsive chemical sensing elements.