Recent Advances in Sensing Materials Targeting Clinical Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Biomarkers: A Review

Area of Science:

• Biomarkers and Diagnostics
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are unique metabolic products.
• Over 1000 VOCs identified in breath offer non-invasive disease diagnostic potential.
• Developing sensitive and selective VOC-sensing systems remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive literature survey of non-biological VOC-sensing materials.
• To discuss limitations and compare the performance of various sensing materials.
• To offer insights for developing advanced breath biopsy diagnostic tools.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of scientific publications on VOC-sensing materials.
• Categorization of materials into metal oxides, polymers, composites, and novel materials.
• Analysis of sensing mechanisms, performance, and limitations.

Main Results:

• Identified various non-biological materials for VOC detection.
• Highlighted the importance of material optimization for sensing performance.
• Presented a comparative summary table of different sensing materials.

Conclusions:

• Non-biological VOC-sensing materials are crucial for breath biopsy applications.
• Material selection and optimization are key to achieving sensitive and selective VOC detection.
• Further research is needed to overcome existing limitations in VOC-sensing technology.