An artificial nose system recognizes fatty acids associated with diseases

A new system composed of human olfactory receptors, artificial synapses and a neural network Also artificial is capable of detecting four different short-chain fatty acids that serve as disease biomarkers for the gastric cancer and halitosis.

The description of this artificial nose system is published in the journal Science Advances and, according to those responsible, the device had a precision of more than 90% by detecting combinations of these diagnostic molecular chains.

This is an improvement over current techniques that focus on single molecules and simple compounds.

The development of neuromorphic machines that can smell could revolutionize many fields, including medicine; One day they will even be able to detect diseases in patients, notes a summary in the magazine.

However, existing artificial olfactory systems can only detect single molecules or distinct compounds; They cannot find chain molecules, such as the short-chain fatty acids associated with gastric cancer.

In this study, Hyun Woo Song and his team from Seoul University present a new neuromorphic device with three parts: a nanodisk containing modified human olfactory receptors, a device that carries artificial synapses, and an artificial neural network.

In testing, the system successfully identified 10 combinations of propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid and hexanoic acid, which are biomarkers related to halitosis and gastric cancer.

The biological sense of smell is an impressive work of engineering designed by evolution, recalls Santiago Marco, professor in the Department of Electronics and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Barcelona, ​​who is not involved in the study.

The article – he adds – describes the integration of three human olfactory receptors in nanodiscs on a graphene sheet and an artificial synapse for the differentiation of short chain fatty acids.

The work is “one more step towards the dream of artificial olfaction: being able to technologically emulate the sense of smell and get closer to the enigma of human chemical perception.”

However, it is still necessary to increase the number of integrated receivers, which, for the moment, is limited to a few units, the researcher emphasizes to Science Media Center Spain, a scientific resources platform.

Furthermore, to encourage their use in practice, it is essential to extend the lifespan of these devices, which currently is typically only one or two weeks, he adds.

“In the future we can envision the use of olfactory prostheses based on these technologies for people with anosmia, but there is still a long way to go for that.”

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