E.Co.Tech-electrochemical handheld breathalyzer COVID sensing technology

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 4370 - 11
• Main Authors: Banga, Ivneet, Paul, Anirban, France, Kordel, Micklich, Ben, Cardwell, Bret, Micklich, Craig, Prasad, Shalini
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.03.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/61; 631/61/350; 639/166; 639/638; 639/925; 692/308; 692/53; 692/699; Breath Tests; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Electrochemistry; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Ionic Liquids; multidisciplinary; Nitric oxide; Pandemics; Reproducibility of Results; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensors; Technology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08321-x

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]BF 4 ) 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.