Artificial nose mimics human sense of smell
Could be used to detect harmful bacteria such as MRSA or lung cancer or other diseases
Chemical engineers in South Korea have successfully created an artificial nose with a sense of smell comparable to a highly trained human expert’s nose.
The nose, called a nanobioelectronic nose (nbe-nose), was able to detect smells at concentrations of as low as 0.02 parts-per-million (ppt), which is equivalent to human levels. The nbe-nose was also able to detect odours in gas form, which more closely mimics how the human nose works.
Mimicking the human sense of smell, or olfaction, has a wide variety of current and potential benefits including health, security and environmental.
Currently, ‘artificial noses’ are used in laboratories and industry to monitor quality control and prevent problems such as contamination and spoilage.
Potential future uses in the medical and healthcare sector include the detection of harmful bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA); the detection of lung cancer or other medical conditions; and as nasal implants to help warn of the presence of natural gas for people with a weak sense of smell; and for environmental protection.
Chemical engineers at Seoul National University and Hongik University in the Republic of Korea developed the nbe nose1. Although it is not fully understood how odour detection works in people, they are confident the nbe-nose demonstrates several similar characteristics to the way humans detect smells.
David Brown, Chief Executive of the UK’s Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), said: ‘Steady progress has been made in this field by chemical engineers over the past decade and this research is very encouraging.’
Reference
1. Mimicking the human smell sensing mechanism with an artificial nose platform.
Sang Hun Lee, Hyun Seok Song, Tai Hyun Park a School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Bio-MAX Institute, Seoul National University; Oh Seok Kwon, Seon Joo Park, Jyongsik Jang, World Class University (WCU) Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment (C2E2), School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University; Jong Hwan Sung, Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul.