Volatile organic metabolites (VOM) can be found in many human samples, such as the skin, the exhaled
breath, saliva, sweat, blood and urine. This year, NYMU iGEM team focuses on the detection and
monitoring of volatile biomarkers from human diseases. Various underlying volatile metabolites
responsible for odorous changes have been identified with the pathological process of human diseases
such as neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease), cancers, gastrointestinal disorders,
and infectious diseases. This will open a promising area for developing noninvasive and point of care
screening/diagnostic methods.
Project Description
This year, we aim to develop non-invasive and patient-friendly odorant biosensors for early screening
of human diseases (e.g., cancers) via exhaled breath samples.
We have included the following sections in our project:
Deciding on and obtaining targeted volatile metabolites
Cloning and expression of specific odorant-binding proteins using Escherichia coli cells.
Intracellular expression of odorant-binding proteins in E. coli
Extracellular surface display expression of odorant-binding
proteins in E. coli
Lab measurement test for specific binding
Specificity
Sensitivity
Point-of-care lab test using immobilized odorant-binding proteins immobilized on cellulose chromatography papers through chemical treatments
Making protein-immobilized cellulose chromatography papers into blow tube structures with variety of shapes for capturing exhaled breath samples
Detecting and quantifying light emission spectrum changes with light spectrum detecting
software tools
Detecting and quantifying targeted volatile metabolite changes with mass spectrometers and software tools
Product prototype design and testing using immobilized odorant-binding proteins on
designed blow tube prototypes
Human practices for linking real-world feedbacks to our research efforts
What are the advantages of using odorant biosensors for detecting volatile biomarkers?
Early Screening
Non-invasive
Point of care
Can be continuously monitoring
Friendly to children and babies
Friendly to severely ill patients
References
Accuracy and Methodologic Challenges of Volatile Organic Compound-Based Exhaled
Breath Tests for
Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Aug
16:e182815.
Assessment of breath volatile organic compounds in acute cardiorespiratory
breathlessness: a
protocol describing a prospective real-world observational study. BMJ Open. 2019
Mar
8;9(3):e025486.
Breath analysis as a diagnostic and screening tool for malignant pleural
mesothelioma: a
systematic review. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2018 Oct;7(5):520-536.
Chemically Modified Polyaniline for the Detection of Volatile Biomarkers of
Minimal Sensitivity
to Humidity and Bending. Adv Healthc Mater. 2018 Aug;7(15):e1800232.
Detection and analysis of endogenous polar volatile organic compounds (PVOCs) in
urine for human
exposome research. Biomarkers. 2019 May;24(3):240-248.
Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Urine via Gas
Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
QTOF to Differentiate Between Localized and Metastatic Models of Breast Cancer.
Sci Rep. 2019
Feb 21;9(1):2526.
Discovery of Volatile Biomarkers of Parkinson's Disease from Sebum. ACS Cent
Sci. 2019 Apr
24;5(4):599-606.
Endogenous and microbial volatile organic compounds in cutaneous health and
disease. TrAC Trends
in Analytical Chemistry, February 2019; 111:163-172.
Sniffing out causes of gastrointestinal disorders: a review of volatile
metabolomic biomarkers.
Biomark Med. 2018 Oct;12(10):1139-1148.
The volatilome - investigation of volatile organic metabolites (VOM) as
potential tumor markers
in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). J Otolaryngol
Head Neck Surg.
2018 Jul 3;47(1):42.
