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“Background Porous silicon (pSi) has proven to be a versatile material that is readily prepared and modified for use as chemical sensors or as a platform for drug delivery [1]. Porous silicon is suited for this latter role

because pSi and the porous silica (pSi-o) formed upon oxidation are biocompatible and biodegradable. Porous silicon prepared with sinusoidal variations in the refractive index (termed rugate sensors) show one-dimensional photonic crystal behavior, with characteristic narrow-band rugate reflectance peaks that can be engineered to occur in the visible through infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The reflectance spectra of these sensors changes when analytes enter or leave the pores SB202190 or if the pore walls are dissolved. The ability to place the peaks in the reflectance spectrum within the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum allows direct monitoring through tissue [2–4] which has potential use for both biomonitoring and monitored drug release. Most optical studies

of porous silicon-based materials have used spectrophotometers with reflectance probes. The position of the wavelength of the maximum reflectance peak of a porous silicon-based photonic crystal can be an effective reporter of degradation due to oxidation and dissolution of the silicon matrix in aqueous media. Spectrophotometric measurement of the temporal evolution of the visible reflectance Go6983 chemical structure spectrum of pSi or pSi-o has been used to follow the dissolution process and the release of drugs trapped in the porous matrix [5, 6]. A key challenge we are

addressing is the development of efficient low-cost methods to extract relevant chemical of information from the change in optical response of porous silicon and similar nanostructured selleck sensor materials. The broad-band red-green-blue (RGB) filters in most color cameras are not optimal for measuring changes in porous silicon reflectivity. The complete optimization of such camera-chemical sensor combinations will require structuring the optical properties of the nanosensor material to best match the optical response of the camera, optimizing the illuminant, and development of efficient and selective data analysis algorithms. In this paper, our primary focus is on developing a simple single parameter to represent the change detected by a color camera as a porous silicon film degrades. Colors, which are qualities representing human visual experiences [7, 8], can be quantified by a number of methods or color spaces. Color spaces can be classified into four groups related via algebraic transformations: linear-light tri-stimulus, xy chromaticity, perceptually uniform, and hue-oriented [8]. All of the color spaces can be derived from the RGB information supplied by devices such as cameras and scanners.