U.S.-Ireland R&D Partnership: Wearable Dynamic Microsystem Sampler for Collecting Microbial Volatiles (SenSorp)

美国-爱尔兰 R

• 批准号: 2139716
• 负责人: Masoud Agah
• 金额: $ 39万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-15 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2139716&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: U.S.; Ireland; R& Partnership; Wearable

The characterization and monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from different sources is immensely important in different disciplines. One of these applications is the analysis of VOCs emitted from human skin for biomarker discovery and disease diagnosis. Skin performs critical functions including protection of internal living tissue and other organs, establishes contact to the external environment and has high metabolic activity. Systemic as well as localized skin diseases are known to modify the molecular and microbial composition of human skin. Consequently, the skin is becoming recognized as a wealthy source of diagnostic information regarding physiological status. There is evidence of canines having a sophisticated olfactory ability to detect the presence of COVID-19 disease from the volatile emission of body and the role of skin volatiles in canine sensing of epilepsy attacks is thought to be significant. It is important to develop new robust and smart analytical workflows to study skin VOCs with the goal of new volatile biomarker identification for wearable bio-diagnostics. The proposed research provides the first-of-its-kind approach for standardizing skin scent collection and develops a readily deployable system as small as an apple watch for point-of-care skin VOC collection. The proposed SenSorp is fabricated using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and 3D printing technologies and includes a sampler to collect VOCs from skin and a sensor to track the amount of VOCs collected. SenSorp measures the collected VOCs in real time and notifies the user about the collected mass through its electronic circuity embedded within the SenSorp’s Smart Key. SenSorp is equipped with a novel 3D printed package that can prevent the adsorption of VOCs from the environment during sample collection from skin and during the storage via its embedded valving mechanism. The rotation of the Smart Key will open or close the VOC pathway from outside (skin/environment) to the adsorption materials in the SenSorp. The SenSorp Auto-Injector is the interface module to commercial gas chromatography instruments for identification of VOCs present in the skin. The validation of the system in controlled microbial environments with subsequent human subject studies is a key step toward the final objective of this collaborative effort, which is to make skin scent a robust medium for disease biomarker discovery and disease diagnosis. The outcome of this project will set an outstanding example of how microscale engineering and analytical chemistry can become highly complementary methodologies to develop low-cost, accessible platforms for biomarker discovery and disease diagnosis. This research will advance discovery while promoting teaching and learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The outcome of this research will be integrated with Virginia Tech’s outreach programs targeting mainly under-represented groups in STEM led by the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED). There will be wide dissemination of the research outcomes to the engineering and scientific communities in peer-reviewed journals, in presentation at multidisciplinary conferences, and in social media (Youtube, LinkedIn, and Clubhouse).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

不同来源排放的挥发性有机化合物 (VOC) 的表征和监测在不同学科中都非常重要，其中之一是分析人体皮肤排放的 VOC，以发现生物标志物和诊断皮肤的关键功能，包括保护内部皮肤。经测试，皮肤与活组织和其他器官建立接触，并具有高代谢活性，已知会改变人体皮肤的分子和微生物组成。诊断信息有证据表明，犬类具有复杂的嗅觉能力，可以从身体的挥发物中检测出是否存在 COVID-19 疾病，并且皮肤挥发物在犬类癫痫发作的感知中的作用被认为是重要的。开发新的强大且智能的分析工作流程来研究皮肤挥发性有机化合物，目标是为可穿戴生物诊断识别新的挥发性生物标志物。拟议的研究为标准化皮肤气味收集提供了首个方法，并开发了一种易于部署的方法。拟议的 SenSorp 系统与苹果手表一样小，用于即时皮肤 VOC 收集，采用微机电系统 (MEMS) 和 3D 打印技术制造，包括一个用于从皮肤收集 VOC 的采样器和一个用于跟踪 VOC 量的传感器。 SenSorp 实时测量收集到的 VOC，并通过 SenSorp 智能钥匙中嵌入的电子电路通知用户收集到的质量。 SenSorp 配备了新型 3D 打印。该包装可以通过其嵌入式阀门机构防止在从皮肤采集样品和储存过程中吸附环境中的 VOC。 智能钥匙的旋转将打开或关闭从外部（皮肤/环境）到吸附材料的 VOC 路径。 SenSorp 自动注射器是商业气相色谱仪的接口模块，用于识别皮肤中存在的 VOC。通过后续的人体研究对系统进行验证是迈向这一目标的关键一步。这项合作的最终目标是使皮肤气味成为疾病生物标志物发现和疾病诊断的强大媒介，该项目的成果将为微观工程和分析化学如何成为开发低浓度的高度互补的方法学树立一个杰出的例子。这项研究将推动发现，同时促进本科生和研究生的教学和学习。这项研究的成果将与弗吉尼亚理工大学的外展计划相结合，该计划主要针对 STEM 领域代表性不足的群体。由工程增强中心多样性 (CEED)。研究成果将通过同行评审期刊、多学科会议和社交媒体（Youtube、LinkedIn 和 Clubhouse）向工程和科学界广泛传播。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定奖项使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。