Electronic nose for diabetes detection developed in Mexico

With the development of polymer-based sensors , experts from the Advanced Materials Research Center (CIMAV) are looking to develop an electronic sense of smell for the evaluation of diabetes mellitus through a person’s breath.

The development of this technology, nicknamed “ electronic nose, ” seeks to imitate the functioning of our natural sense of smell. The sensors are meant to react to specific molecules and generate signals which are later transformed into data for computer processing.

The project manager, Berenice Domínguez Cruz , who is also a member of CIMAV and an investigator for the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) Chairs Programme , was recently decorated with one of the five Women Scholarships for Science , given by L’Oréal, UNESCO, CONACYT, and the Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC) in 2018.

The sensors are made out of polymers , and they work by absorbing substances and generating information which is later sent to an interpretation unit meant to monitor their concentrations.

This project is still at the material and electronic development phase. The sensors will be able to measure acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyric acid . In a person’s breath, higher concentrations of these indicators usually point to diabetes mellitus .

“The main advantage of this device is that it would be a non-invasive monitoring system and people won’t need to use blood extraction methods anymore ,” CONACYT stated through its information agency.

The investigator indicated that, as part of the group work, they have presented a patent application before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) for the development of the polymer-based sensor, as well as a pending publication of the research on an indexed journal .

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