Amplifying Fluorescent Polymers (AFP)
Our explosives detectors provide accuracy and sensitivity derived from a unique amplifying fluorescent polymer (AFP), which we use under an exclusive license from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). AFP dramatically increases the signal strength from the molecules of interest.
Conventional fluorescence detection measures a change in fluorescence (light) emanating from chromophores (isolated molecules) that are designed to respond to a specific stimulus (analyte). In this model, only the chromophore directly involved in the analyte interaction undergoes a change in fluorescence. To visualize, if the filament in one light bulb on a string of Christmas lights is broken, only the one light bulb goes out.
By comparison, AFP links many chromophores in a 'molecular wire'. When a linked chromophore comes in contact with the analyte of interest, all linked chromophores undergo a change in fluorescence - they quench. In our visual example, if all the Christmas lights are wired together, when the filament in one light bulb breaks, the entire string of lights would go out. In this way, even if an extremely small amount of the analyte comes in contact with the AFP, a large reaction is evident. This enables ultra-trace levels of detection.
The ICx Technologies team has successfully applied this proprietary technology to many forms of chemical and biological vapor detection and continues to conduct research. Most notably, the Fido XT Explosives Detector has achieved detection sensitivities as low as 100 parts per quadrillion.