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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Thermal Measurement Techniques in Analytical Microfluidic Devices
Published on: June 3, 2015
An absolute calibration method of an ethyl alcohol biosensor based on wavelength-modulated differential photothermal
Yi Jun Liu1, Andreas Mandelis1, Xinxin Guo1
1Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Center for Advanced Diffusion-Wave Technologies (CADIFT), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada.
Abstract:
In this work, laser-based wavelength-modulated differential photothermal radiometry (WM-DPTR) is applied to develop a non-invasive in-vehicle alcohol biosensor. WM-DPTR features unprecedented ethanol-specificity and sensitivity by suppressing baseline variations through a differential measurement near the peak and baseline of the mid-infrared ethanol absorption spectrum. Biosensor signal calibration curves are obtained from WM-DPTR theory and from measurements in human blood serum and ethanol solutions diffused from skin. The results demonstrate that the WM-DPTR-based calibrated alcohol biosensor can achieve high precision and accuracy for the ethanol concentration range of 0-100 mg/dl. The high-performance alcohol biosensor can be incorporated into ignition interlocks that could be fitted as a universal accessory in vehicles in an effort to reduce incidents of drinking and driving.
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