They produced a nanowire 10,000 times thinner than a human hair that can be cheaply grown by common bacteria and tuned to “smell.”
Scientists have developed an artificial nose that can sniff out diseases, including cancer and COVID-19, according to a recent paper published in the journal Nature Communications. The technology was developed by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland and is based on a type of sensor known as a “field-effect transistor.”
The artificial nose works by detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are chemicals that are emitted by various diseases, including cancer and respiratory infections like COVID-19. The sensor is made up of a thin layer of graphene, which is a highly conductive material that can detect even the smallest changes in the surrounding environment.
“We’ve essentially created a nose that can detect diseases by ‘smelling’ the chemicals they give off,” said Joseph Wang, a professor of nanoengineering at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the study. “This is an exciting development that could have a significant impact on healthcare.”
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