Electronic nose could soon sniff out diseases

Irig’s electronic nose, originally designed for consumer and industrial applications, is now being used in the early detection of diseases.
Here’s how it works: some diseases—especially cancer—alter the metabolic production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which are relevant biomarkers.
In this research, which focused on two oeso-gastric cancer biomarkers, record detection limits (around one part per billion by volume) were reported.
Instead of a combination of peptides that self-assemble in a monolayer, here the sensitive element is a 3D nanostructure with a perfectly controlled morphology, obtained from a single peptide in solution.
The electronic nose is not a medical device, but it could be used in screening.

Contact: yanxia.hou-broutin@cea.fr

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