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CHBE Seminar: Dr. Elisabeth Smela, UMD Cell-Based Sensing for Artificial Olfaction Abstract: An artificial or electronic nose (e-nose) for odor recognition has been a goal for many decades. However, the primary and best means of odor identification in the field today are still dogs, rats, and humans. Dogs can detect COVID, rats can find landmines, and humans can recognize wine vintages. However, all require extensive individual training and none leave an electronic record. A portable artificial nose would have applications in many fields, from food safety to security. Biohybrid sensors are a promising approach, since they combine the ability of biological cells to detect odors with technology to record cell responses. Biological odor sensing systems have unrivalled selectivity and sensitivity due to specific recognition and combinatorial coding. However, application of such sensors has been hindered by the need to store the biological elements in a functional state prior to use, which has involved keeping the cells alive continuously. We are conducting research to understand whether a new cell line that can be completely dried, similar to the way yeast is dried, could form the basis for a fieldable artificial nose. These desiccatable cells were derived from an insect and have been engineered to express an olfactory receptor (OR) and a GCaMP reporter for Ca2+, so they give a fluorescence signal upon odorant binding. The cells can be stored under a wide range of environmental conditions in the dry state before they are needed, and can be revived by the addition of liquid. Our work is expanding knowledge about how to practically achieve artificial olfaction from multiple angles: biology, hardware, and data interpretation
This Event is For: Graduate • Faculty |
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