Time temperature indicator based on the optical response of photonic crystals upon polymer infiltration

CENCHA, LUISA G.; GARCÍA, GUADALUPE F.; BUDINI, NICOLÁS; URTEAGA, RAÚL; BERLI, CLAUDIO L. A.

Palm Springs

Conferencia; 25th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (µTAS 2021); 2021

The development of a time-temperature indicator for monitoring packaged food products is reported. The sensor is based on capillary imbibition of thermoplastic polymers into a mesoporous photonic crystal, which yields a progressive shift of the light wavelength reflected by the crystal. Each reflected color is associated to the time-temperature history of the system, which can be adjusted to follow the deterioration level of a monitored product.