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Screen-printed nanoparticles as anti-counterfeiting tags.
Carlos Campos-Cuerva1, Maciej Zieba, Victor Sebastian
1Institute of Nanoscience of Aragon (INA) and Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor, s/n, I + D + i Building, 50018, Zaragoza, Spain. CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red. C/Monforte de Lemos 3-5, Pabellón 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Metallic nanoparticles, including gold and silver, offer unique optical and magnetic signals for secure authentication tags. This research demonstrates combining these properties for advanced anti-counterfeiting solutions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Authentication tags are crucial for preventing counterfeiting across various industries.
- Traditional authentication methods can be vulnerable to sophisticated forgery techniques.
- Nanoparticles offer unique physical and optical properties suitable for security applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel authentication tags using screen-printed metallic nanoparticles.
- To investigate the optical and magnetic properties of different nanoparticles for anti-counterfeiting.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of combining optical and magnetic signals for enhanced security.
Main Methods:
- Screen printing of gold, silver, and magnetic nanoparticles onto various paper substrates.
- Characterization of optical signatures (emission bandwidths, lifetimes) under accelerated weathering.
- Measurement of magnetic signals using magnetic pattern recognition sensors and vibrating sample magnetometers.
- Evaluation of nanoparticle size-dependent magnetic properties.
Main Results:
- Gold and silver nanoparticles exhibited distinct, stable optical signatures.
- Magnetic nanoparticles displayed size-dependent magnetic signals.
- Successful combination of optical and magnetic properties on a single printed support was achieved.
- User-configurable labels with high security were demonstrated using commercial sensors.
Conclusions:
- Screen-printed metallic nanoparticles provide a versatile platform for creating secure authentication tags.
- The integration of optical and magnetic properties enhances anti-counterfeiting capabilities.
- This approach offers a cost-effective and high-security solution for product authentication.
