Reaction-Based Detection of Chemical Warfare Agent Mimics with Affinity Ionic Liquids

We are demonstrating here the successful development of an ionic liquid device based on affinity ionic liquids AIL 1-6 tailored for chemoselective detection of gaseous chemical warfare agent (CWA) mimics on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as well as on disposable filter papers. In the QCM platform, the negligible vapor pressure of ionic liquids ensures that AILs do not dry out on quartz chips and are used free of leakage during the measurements. This lack of vapor pressure makes these ionic liquid devices highly attractive for gas analysis. In the present study, chemoselective CWA mimic vapor detection by QCM occurs when gas rapidly diffuses into the AIL thin film and accordingly the nucleophilic substitution reaction emerges under the experimental conditions developed. Our initial results give credence to three important conclusions: (i) AILs could be prepared in short synthetic steps and are remarkable in detecting CWA mimics, (ii) the analysis of gaseous CWA mimics on QCM is label-free and chemoselective, and (iii) the detection of CWA mimic vapor by AILs on filter paper discs is colorimetric and portable, and, once used, the paper disc can be disposed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature based on the CWA mimic vapor detection in ionic liquids on a QCM.