The proposed work aims at producing
novel tools for medical diagnoses and homeland security applications.
These devices will be selective electronic noses (SENOMA is the
suggested trademark name) that will act as "warning canaries",
providing early evidence of exposure to bacteria, viruses or toxins
through the detection of trace amounts of gases. For example, NO
and CO are two major metabolites of activated alveolar macrophages
in the lungs of patients who are developing an acute inflammatory
response. Their selective detection would provide a more reliable
signal to initiate anti inflammatory therapies. A biosensor that
could respond to the early onset of the acute inflammatory response
in the lungs would be a valuable tool to detect potential exposure
of individuals to SARS or even to spores of Bacillus anthracis that
might be inhaled as a consequence of a bioterrorist attack. The
proposed detectors will diagnose lung and systemic processes rapidly
and economically. Arrays of selective gas microsensors will be used
for this purpose consisting of selective gas sensing elements of
either single metal oxide thin films or bio composite gels for the
detection of bio/chemical analytes These devices will be exploited
commercially. |
