Preface
As suggested by Marshal McLuhan, media (in the more general meaning of the term) act as extensions of the functions of the human body [1]. In the same way that the microphone acts as an extension of the ear, chemical sensors can be considered to be extensions of the organs of chemical perception that are the nose and the tongue.
The development of chemical sensors responds to the increasing demand of chemical data that characterize various systems of interest. Such a system can be the human body itself, whose physiological state can be assessed unequivocally by physical, chemical and biochemical parameters. The quality of the ambient and natural environment is characterized by measuring the content of noxious chemical species. No less important is the automatic control of certain industrial processes that depend on specific chemical parameters.
In general, standard analytical methods (e.g., chromatography, spectrometry and electrophoresis) can provide the same kind of information as that produced by chemical sensors. The advantage of the chemical sensor approach results from the fact that they are specialized, small size, portable and inexpensive devices that are suitable for in situ analysis and real-time monitoring of chemical parameters. Worthy of mention is the capability of dedicated chemical sensors to identify pathogen micro-organisms and viruses via characteristic compounds that are parts of the structure of the target species.
“There's plenty of room at the bottom” ...
