Bee venom makes explosives detector extra sensitive

To create the sensors, a team of chemical engineers led by chemistry professor Michael Strano coated carbon nanotubes with protein fragments normally found in bee venom. This is the first time these proteins have been shown to react to explosives, specifically a class known as nitro-aromatic compounds that includes TNT.

If developed into commercial devices, such sensors would be far more sensitive than existing explosives detectors that use spectrometry to analyse charged particles as they move through the air.

‘Ion mobility spectrometers are widely deployed because they are inexpensive and very reliable,’ said Prof Strano. ‘However, this next generation of nanosensors can improve upon this by detecting single molecules of explosives at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.’

Strano has filed for a patent on the technology, which makes use of protein fragments called bombolitins. ‘Scientists have studied these peptides but, as far as we know, they’ve never been shown to have an affinity for and recognise explosive molecules in any way,’ he said.