Nanotube-based sensor arrays for clinical breath analysis

Instrumentation for clinical breath analysis is being developed using a variety of sensor technologies and information processing strategies. One type of instrumentation for clinical breath analysis uses an array of sensors for detection of volatile analytes in breath and pattern recognition and categorization algorithms able to learn and store information about the constant and variable components of human breath samples. This later approach is known as electronic olfaction. We present a new sensor technology for electronic olfaction that offers the potential to develop miniature sensor chips deploying hundreds of diverse and sensitive sensors based on DNA-decorated semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. We have made sensor devices sensitive to some components of human breath (organic acids, trimethylamine). Screening of further DNA oligomers for their ability to render DNA-coated nanotubes sensitive to additional volatile components of human breath is needed to fully exploit this new sensor technology for clinical breath analysis.