Scientists have developed a nanosensor that detects lung cancer in a single breath

Chinese scientists have developed a nanosensor that detects lung cancer by the level of isoprene in the air a person exhales.

The researchers believe that their discovery could lead to the creation of a non-invasive and inexpensive method of early diagnosis of the disease, potentially saving many lives.

When the human body breaks down fat in a process called lipolytic cholesterol metabolism, isoprene is released with exhaled air. As it turns out, a decrease in isoprene levels can indicate the presence of lung cancer. The team, led by researchers from Zhejiang University in China, used this insight in their work and developed an innovative gas sensor material to create a screening process.

The main challenge in biomarker discoveryA biomarker is a substance or characteristic that can be measured in the body. It indicates normal biological processes, disease, or an organism's response to treatment. in exhaled air is that the sensors must distinguish between volatile chemical compounds, withstand the natural humidity of exhaled breath, and detect very small amounts of specific chemicals. In the case of isoprene, sensors capable of detecting levels of the chemical compound in the parts per billion (ppb) range are required.

The researchers worked to improve indium oxide-based nanosensors that would meet these criteria. After several experiments, they obtained a type of metal oxide-based material containing platinum (Pt), indium (In), and nickel (Ni), which they called Pt@InNiOx.

The Pt@InNiOx material demonstrated ultra-sensitivity and detected levels of isoprene as low as two ppb. It also responded better to isoprene than to other compounds found in human exhaled air and performed consistently during the tests.

These tests involved incorporating the Pt@InNiOx nanoflakes into a handheld device that the scientists used with breath samples from 13 participants, five of whom had lung cancer. The sensor detected levels of isoprene below 40 ppb in the samples of participants with cancer and more than 60 ppb in participants without cancer.

By data According to the World Health Organization, 1.8 million people died of lung cancer in 2020. A new diagnostic method can significantly reduce this figure due to early detection of the disease.

It is worth noting that the article by the researchers, published in the journal ACS Sensors, reflects the results of a fairly small testing group. The team noted that more work needs to be done before this screening method becomes commercially available: researching sensor materials, conducting further data analysis, integrating the technology into portable devices, and further exploring the link between exhaled isoprene and lung cancer.

Other projects on cancer diagnosis based on exhaled air analysis have been in development for several years. In 2019, the organization Cancer Research UK started The research was conducted by the Institute, but it does not appear to have published the results yet.

Source: New Atlas