Electronic Nose Development and Preliminary Human Breath Testing for Rapid, Non-Invasive COVID-19 Detection.

We adapted an existing, spaceflight-proven, robust "electronic nose" (E-Nose) that uses an array of electrical resistivity-based nanosensors mimicking aspects of mammalian olfaction to conduct on-site, rapid screening for COVID-19 infection by measuring the pattern of sensor responses to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled human breath. We built and tested multiple copies of a hand-held prototype E-Nose sensor system, composed of 64 chemically sensitive nanomaterial sensing elements tailored to COVID-19 VOC detection; data acquisition electronics; a smart tablet with software (App) for sensor control, data acquisition and display; and a sampling fixture to capture exhaled breath samples and deliver them to the sensor array inside the E-Nose. The sensing elements detect the combination of VOCs typical in breath at parts-per-billion (ppb) levels, with repeatability of 0.

Hybrid Carbon Nanotubes/Gold Nanoparticles Composites for Trace Nitric Oxide Detection over a Wide Range of Humidity.

Composites of functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) of ≈15 nm diameter were drop-cast on a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate equipped with interdigitated electrodes to make a hybrid thin film. Addition of Au NPs decorated the surface of SWCNTs networked films and acted as catalysts which resulted into an enhanced sensitivity and low ppb concentration detection limit. The compositions of the film were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Solid State Electronic Sensors for Detection of Carbon Dioxide.

Detection of carbon dioxide (CO) is very important for environmental, health, safety and space applications. We have studied novel multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and an iron oxide (FeO) nanocomposite based chemiresistive sensor for detection of CO at room temperature. The sensor has been miniaturized to a chip size (1 cm × 2 cm).

A Sensor Array for the Detection and Discrimination of Methane and Other Environmental Pollutant Gases.

We address the sensitive detection and discrimination of gases impacting the environment, such as CH₄, NH₃, SO₂, and CO, using a sensor array and aided by principal component analysis (PCA). A 32-element chemiresistive sensor array consisting of nine different sensor materials including seven types of modified single-walled carbon nanotubes and two types of polymers has been constructed. PCA results demonstrate excellent discriminating ability of the chemiresistor sensor chip in the 1-30 ppm concentration range.