Nordic Life Science 1
90 SCREENING BY SMELLING Electronic noses open up
possibilities for developing non-invasive approaches for early disease detection. T E X T B Y M A L I N O T M A N I P H O T O B Y O LOV PL A N T H A B E R E LECTRONIC NOSES, OR E-NOSES, have actually been around for more than 50 years, but they have advanced significantly in recent years thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies. The term “electronic nose” was inspired by the mammalian nose because the technology aims to mimic certain aspects of the human – or in some cases even canine – sense of smell, however, it does not physically resemble a nose, says Associate Professor Donatella Puglisi, who works with e-noses at Linköping University. “The instrument typically consists of an array of gas sensors, that is, multiple sensing devices that respond to volatile compounds in the air and generate electrical signals. These sensors function somewhat like artificial olfactory receptors. By analyzing the patterns produced by the sensors with advanced algorithms and machine learning models, we can identify hidden information associated with specific odors or biological conditions,” she explains. “Different electronic noses can vary in size and design depending on their application, but they are generally compact laboratory instruments rather than wearable devices.” A biomarker-agnostic approach At Puglisi’s research group at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology at Linköping University, she and her colleagues have contributed to the development of an e-nose consisting of 32 sensors that can react to volatile substances emitted from the examined blood plasma sample. Cancer cells can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are small molecules that may reflect changes in cellular metabolism. “Our research suggests that ovarian cancer cells produce patterns of volatile compounds that differ from those of other cell types. It is fascinating that our body may produce detectable chemical changes even before clear symptoms appear. This opens exciting possibilities for developing new, noninvasive approaches for early disease detection,” she says. At the moment, however, they cannot identify which specific compounds – or combinations of compounds THE NOSE // ELECTRONIC NOSES