Sensors for Breath Analysis: An Advanced Approach to Express Diagnostics and Monitoring of Human Diseases

摘要

The study demonstrates high efficacy and expediency of the TCNQ derivatives-based point-contact multi-structure as a prospective asset for development of new sensors. Investigation of sensors' behavior in case of different duration of exposition to exhaled air showed that in case of exposition lasting longer than 30 s, the response curve of the point-contact sensors was principally different from analogous dependences of traditional and nanostructured chemical ones. Due to the complex non-homogenous structure, the obtained response curves of the point-contact sensors are much more informative than similar dependences of analog devices. The introduced phenomenological model of the response signal of the sensor under study enables application of a complex statistical analysis of its components. This may be used for exhaled air analysis with diagnostic purposes. The proposed advanced approach was successfully applied to diagnostics development and important correlations between response curve's parameters and state of human organism were discovered. High sensitivity of the point-contact multi-structure, enabling analysis of composite gas mixtures, opens up wide possibilities to apply the demonstrated approach for environment and health protection.