Sniffing lung cancer related biomarkers using an oxidized graphene SAW sensor

Abstract

Decane is one of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human breath. Successful detection of decane in human breath has vast prospects for early lung cancer diagnosis. In this paper, a novel detecting device based on a filter surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensor is presented. SAW sensors coated with a thin oxidized graphene film were used to detect decane in parts per million (ppm) concentrations. Control and signal detection circuits were designed using a vector network analyzer with a detection resolution of insertion loss down to 0.0001 dB. The results showed that the SAW sensor could respond quickly with great sensitivity when exposed to 0.2 ppm decane. This device shows tremendous potential in medical diagnosis and environmental assessment.

Keywords

decane / graphene oxide / lung-cancer biomarker / SAW gas sensor

References

[1] Y. Adiguzel and H. Kulah, Breath sensors for lung cancer diagnosis, Biosens. Bioelectron.65, 121 (2015)

[2] M. Phillips, J. Herrera, S. Krishnan, M. Zain, J. Greenberg, and R. N. Cataneo, Variation in volatile organic compounds in the breath of normal humans, J. Chromatogr. B Biomed. Sci. Appl. 729(1-2), 75 (1999)

[3] M. Phillips, K. Gleeson, J. M. B. Hughes, J. Greenberg, R. N.Cataneo, L.Baker, and W. P. McVay, Volatile organic compounds in breath as markers of lung cancer: A cross-sectional study, Lancet 353(9168), 1930 (1999)

[4] A. Jemal, R. Siegel, E. Ward, Y.Hao, J. Xu, T.Murray, and M. J. Thun, Cancer statistics, CA Cancer J. Clin. 58(2), 71 (2008)

[5] H. J. O’Neill, S. M. Gordon, M. H.O’Neill, R. D.Gibbons, and J. P. Szidon, A computerized classification technique for screening for the presence of breath biomarkers in lung cancer, Clin. Chem. 34(8), 1613 (1988)

[6] G. Peng, M. Hakim, Y. Y. Broza, S. Billan, R. Abdah-Bortnyak, A. Kuten, U. Tisch, and H. Haick, Detection of lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers from exhaled breath using a single array of nanosensors, Br. J. Cancer 103(4), 542 (2010)

[7] G. Peng, U. Tisch, O. Adams, M. Hakim, N. Shehada, Y. Y. Broza, S. Billan, R. Abdah-Bortnyak, A. Kuten, and H. Haick, Diagnosing lung cancer in exhaled breath using gold nanoparticles, Nat. Nanotechnol. 4(10), 669 (2009)

[8] X. Chen, M. Cao, Y. Li, W. Hu, P. Wang, K. Ying, and H. Pan, A study of an electronic nose for detection of lung cancer based on a virtual SAW gas sensors array and imaging recognition method, Meas. Sci. Technol. 16(8), 1535 (2005)

[9] R. F. Machado, D. Laskowski, O. Deffenderfer, T. Burch, S. Zheng, P. J. Mazzone, T. Mekhail, C. Jennings, J. K. Stoller, J. Pyle, J. Duncan, R. A. Dweik, and S. C. Erzurum, Detection of lung cancer by sensor array analyses of exhaled breath, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 171(11), 1286 (2005)

[10] J. Zhang, J. Liu, Q. Peng, X. Wang, and Y. Li, Nearly monodisperse Cu₂O and CuO nanospheres: Preparation and applications for sensitive gas sensors, Chem. Mater. 18(4), 867 (2006)

[11] M. E. Franke, T. J. Koplin, and U. Simon, Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles in chemiresistors: Does the nanoscale matter? Small 2(1), 36 (2006)

[12] J. Chen and N. Tsubokawa, Novel gas sensor from polymer-grafted carbon black: Vapor response of electric resistance of conducting composites prepared from poly(ethylene-block-ethylene oxide)-grafted carbon black, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 77(11), 2437 (2000)

[13] J. J. Miasik, A. Hooper, and B. C. Tofield, Conducting polymer gas sensors, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 82(4), 1117 (1986)

[14] J. W. Jiang, Graphene versus MoS2: A short review, Front. Phys. 10(3), 106801 (2015)

[15] Y. Li, H. Zhang, D. W. Yan, H. F. Yin, and X. L. Cheng, Secondary plasmon resonance in graphene nanostructures, Front. Phys. 10(1), 102 (2015)

[16] C. Stampfer, S. Fringes, J. Güttinger, F. Molitor, C. Volk, B. Terrés, J. Dauber, S. Engels, S. Schnez, A. Jacobsen, S. Dröscher, T. Ihn, and K. Ensslin, Transport in graphene nanostructures, Front. Phys. 6(3), 271 (2011)

[17] Y. Zhu, S. Murali, W. Cai, X. Li, J. W. Suk, J. R. Potts, and R. S. Ruoff, Graphene and graphene oxide: Synthesis, properties, and applications, Adv. Mater. 22(35), 3906 (2010)

[18] D. A. Dikin, S. Stankovich, E. J. Zimney, R. D. Piner, G. H. Dommett, G. Evmenenko, S. T. Nguyen, and R. S.Ruoff, Preparation and characterization of graphene oxide paper, Nature 448(7152), 457 (2007)

[19] Z. Zhang, X. Zhang, W. Luo, H. Yang, Y. He, Y. Liu, X. Zhang, and G. Peng, Study on adsorption and desorption of ammonia on graphene, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 10(1), 359(1) (2015)

[20] M. Penza, C. Martucci, and G. Cassano, NO _x gas sensing characteristics of WO3 thin films activated by noble metals (Pd, Pt, Au) layers, Sens. Actuators B Chem. 50(1), 52 (1998)

[21] W. S. HummersJr and R. E. Offeman, Preparation of graphitic oxide, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 80, 1339 (1958)

[22] V. V. Krylov, Effect of surface phenomena in solids on surface acoustic waves, Prog. Surf. Sci. 32(1), 39 (1989)

[23] A. A. Oliner, Acoustic Surface Waves (Topics in Applied Physics Volume 24), Berlin and New York: Springer-Verlag, 1978, p. 342 (For individual items see A79-16052 to A79-16055)

[24] Analytical Methods Committee, Recommendations for the definition, estimation and use of the detection limit, Analyst 112(2), 199 (1987)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg