Polypyrrole-Ag/AgCl Nanocomposite-Enabled Exhaled Breath-Acetone Monitoring Non-Invasive Biosensor for Diabetes Diagnostics

Abstract

The state-of-the-art diabetes diagnosis is concerned with developing non-invasive nano-enabled exhaled breath-acetone detection strategies. This communication details the potential of polypyrrole(PPy)– Silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) ternary nanocomposites (NCs) for monitoring low-trace of acetone in human breath for diabetes diagnosis. The PPy–Ag/AgCl NCs were synthesized through in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline by silver nitrate in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The morphological analysis revealed the existence of spherical Ag/AgCl nanoparticles (diameter ∼50 nm) embedded in PPy matrix of nano fibrillar morphology (diameter ∼20 nm). The structural investigations confirm the co-existence of PPy, Ag and AgCl nanoparticles in the ternary nanocomposite. The NC exhibited manifold superior sensing performance towards low trace (as low as ∼1 ppm) of breath-acetone with excellent sensitivity (∼20%), prompt response (∼20 s), fast recovery (∼100s), linear detecting range, and high repeatability at room temperature compared to pristine PPy. It is attributed to synergistic effects in ternary NC due to physicochemical merits of all precursors. Moreover, it showed high stability and selectivity towards acetone in the presence of prominent interfering VOCs and varying humidity. It opens a new window for non-invasive, economic, energy-efficient and point-of-care sensors for diagnosing diabetes in humans and, revolutionizing clinical diagnostics and personal healthcare.