Work

Challenges and Applications of Bio-Sniffers for Monitoring Volatile Organic Compounds in Medical Diagnostics

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Bio-sniffers represent a novel detection technology that demonstrates significant potential in medical diagnostics. Specifically, they assess disease conditions and metabolic status through the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath. Unlike conventional methods such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), bio-sniffers provide rapid, sensitive, and portable detection capabilities. In this review, we examine the metabolic pathways and detection methods of specific VOCs in the human body, and their roles as disease biomarkers, and focus on the detection principles, performance characteristics, and medical applications of two bio-sniffer types: electrical and optical sensors. Finally, we systematically discuss the current challenges facing bio-sniffers in VOC monitoring, outline future development directions, and provide suggestions for improving sensitivity and reducing environmental interference.

Source: Chemosensors

DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors13040127

Authors: Yang Wang, Xunda Zhou, Siying Mao, Shiwei Chen, Zhenzhong Guo

Institution: Wuhan University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,413