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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Real-time Breath Analysis by Using Secondary Nanoelectrospray Ionization Coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Published on: March 9, 2018
Understanding the Potential of WO₃ Based Sensors for Breath Analysis
Anna Staerz1,2, Udo Weimar3,4, Nicolae Barsan5,6
1Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry (IPTC), University of Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany. anna.staerz@ipc.uni-tuebingen.de.
Abstract:
Tungsten trioxide is the second most commonly used semiconducting metal oxide in gas sensors. Semiconducting metal oxide (SMOX)-based sensors are small, robust, inexpensive and sensitive, making them highly attractive for handheld portable medical diagnostic detectors. WO₃ is reported to show high sensor responses to several biomarkers found in breath, e.g., acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, toluene, and nitric oxide. Modern material science allows WO₃ samples to be tailored to address certain sensing needs. Utilizing recent advances in breath sampling it will be possible in the future to test WO₃-based sensors in application conditions and to compare the sensing results to those obtained using more expensive analytical methods.
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