Introduction

By exploiting recent advances in the understanding of pheromone biosynthesis pathways and how pheromone molecules (a key category of so-called infochemicals) are detected and decoded in the insect nervous system a new class of technology for infochemical communication has been developed.

In a novel approach to information and communication technology (ICT) we investigated, designed and implemented using microreactor technology, the biosynthesis pathways of infochemical production in the moth Spodoptera littoralis. This subsystem that we termed the "chemoemitter" is a microsystem capable of generating a precise mix of predefined synthesised compounds in programmable ratios of concentration. In parallel we investigated, designed and implemented a complementary tuned detector (termed a "chemoreceiver") of this volatile chemical mixture based upon principles of molecular detection in the receptor and antennal lobe neurons of the same animal which is able to recover the ratiometric information deployed in the world. As a combined system, this innovative chemoemitter/receiver is capable of information transmission using chemicals alone and has the potential to form the basis of a new technological field for labelling, information transmission and biochemical interfacing.

Chemical messages may be deposited on surfaces or transmitted through gaseous/liquid media. Moreover, by controlling the volatility of the predefined pheromone compounds it is possible to transmit time-sensitive and time-registered information. As such we expect our approach and the technologies developed in this project to have long-term implications for automatic identification and data capture (AIDC), product labelling, search and rescue, data storage, unexploded ordinance and mine localisation, air silent communication, unmanned space exploration, medical diagnosis/treatment, therapeutic agents and environmental monitoring/control.

iCHEM Symposium at FET'11

An interdisciplinary symposium titled 'Talking with Chemicals: Challenges of Biomimetic Infochemical Communication'was organized at The European Future Technologies Conference and Exhibition (FET'11) to present an overview of the biological and technological inspiration for the iCHEM project and present the latest advances and achievements. For details, visit our FET'11 page.

iCHEM publications

The iCHEM consortium has published 10 journal articles, and 22 conference and 9 workshop presentations. For a complete list of journal articles and conference and workshop papers related to the iCHEM project, visit our Publications page.

The iCHEM consortium

The University of Warwick, Microsensors and Bioelectronics Laboratory at the School of Engineering (UK). The principal investigators are Prof. Julian Gardner and Dr. Marina Cole (iCHEM coordinator).
The University of Leicester, Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, and the Centre for Bioengineering at the School of Engineering (UK). The principal investigators are Prof. John Challiss and Dr. Tim Pearce.
The Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology (Germany). The principal investigator is Prof. Bill Hansson.
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Chemical Ecology Unit (Spain). The principal investigator is Prof. Angel Guerrero.
The University of Twente, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology (Holland). The principal investigator is Prof. Han Gardeniers.

Contacts

For scientific and technical enquiries, please contact the Project Co-ordinator:

Dr. Marina Cole
School of Engineering
University of Warwick
Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

Telephone: +44 24 765 23546
Email: m.cole AT warwick.ac.uk

For enquiries about this website, please contact:

Dr Zoltan Racz
School of Engineering
University of Warwick
Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

Telephone: +44 24 765 22340
Email: z.racz AT warwick.ac.uk