Abstract
Breathomics is widely emerging as a strategy for non-invasive diagnosis of respiratory inflammation. In this study, we have evaluated the metabolic signals associated with Coronavirus (SARS COV-2), mainly the release of nitric oxide in breath. We have demonstrated the utility of a breath analyzer-based sensor platform for the detection of trace amounts of this target species. The sensor surface is modified with Room Temperature Ionic Liquid (RTIL) that allows faster diffusion of the target gas and can be used for gas sensing application. A low limit of detection (LOD) of 50 parts per billion has been achieved with a 95% confidence interval for detection of nitric oxide.. This inhouse designed sensor is incorporated into a breath analyzer system that displays enhanced sensitivity, specificity, linearity, and reproducibility for NO gas monitoring. The developed sensor platform can detect target concentrations of NO ranging from 50 to 250 ppb, using 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM]BF4) as RTIL and displays fast response time of 5 s, thereby allowing easy detection of the target gas species. The sensor successfully quantifies the diffusion current and charge modulations arising within the electrical double layer from the RTIL–NO interactions through DC-based chronoamperometry (CA). The subjects tested negative and positive are significantly different (p < 0.01). The prototype can potentially be used for human health monitoring and screening, especially during the pandemic due to its portability, small size, an embedded RTIL sensing element, integrability with a low-power microelectronic device, and an IoT interface.
Highlights
Coronavirus, a family member of single stranded RNA viruses consists with potent viral genome, covered by a bilayer lipidic envelope and a large number of peplomers or spikes on the surface, is currently considered the scariest health hazard worldwide with its potent ability to spread and infect human mankind never than before
The sensor surface is modified with Room Temperature Ionic Liquid (RTIL) that allows faster diffusion of the target gas and can be used for gas sensing application
The organization of this section is as follows: (1) COMSOLTM simulation explaining the rationale behind the use of interdigitated electrode design, (2) Computational study to select E MIM[BF4] as a suitable candidate for nitric oxide (NO) sensing, (3) Characterizing the NO binding interaction with E MIM[BF4] for electrochemical gas sensing, (4) Translatability of the RTIL–NO interaction toward low power portable microelectronic prototype development, (5) Validation of the low power portable prototype for real-time NO detection in a clinical setting
Summary
Coronavirus, a family member of single stranded RNA viruses consists with potent viral genome, covered by a bilayer lipidic envelope and a large number of peplomers or spikes on the surface, is currently considered the scariest health hazard worldwide with its potent ability to spread and infect human mankind never than before. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organizations have identified common symptoms of this disease including dry cough, headache, difficulty breathing, weakness, and lack of smell and taste It has been found in some extreme cases, dyspnea and/or hypoxemia can occur a week after the appearance of the disease, accompanied by septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and dysfunction of coagulation[6]. It was validated that activation of NOX genes increases by the release of NO by the human endothelial cells[17] These results support our hypothesis, and we believe that detection of these biomarkers in an array-based manner will help improve the sensitivity and specificity of disease diagnosis. They suffer from drawbacks such as lack of portability into a handheld device, long detection time and interference to s ignal[34]
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