Executive Summary : | Research for an accurate and early diagnosis of malaria has seen significant improvements over the last decade, only 50% of the children, majorly in underdeveloped countries, get a proper diagnosis of malaria. Recent studies have proved that breath-based malaria diagnosis is a promising technique for the early detection of malaria effectively. The malaria parasite present in the human body alters the VOC profile of exhaled breath. The detection of these VOCs, α-pinene and 3-carene, using a sensor-based device can be a potential solution for cost-effective field testing of malaria in remote areas using a handheld portable breath sensor-based device. Objectives of the proposed work are: 1. Identification of the detection limits of the biosensor for 3-Carene and α-Pinene and related VOCs. 2. To determine the correlation if any of the stages of infection w.r.t the concentrations of the VOCs secreted. 3. Improvements w.r.t the sensitivity and selectivity of the biosensor. 4. Integrate this device to IoT and cloud for data collection and accessibility. 5. Field testing of the developed device. For improving the detection limits of the developed prototype for the VOCs and related compounds found in human breath sensing studies under various parameters will be done. Sensors will be fabricated by using advanced lithography methods and coating with the sensing material synthesized. Sensitivity of the breath sensor using different concentrations of the standard VOCs will be measured. The effect of humidity or contamination by other gases on the performance breath sensor will be investigated. The sensitivity and stability improvements of the sensor will be achieved by changing the substrate and electrode materials. The sensor prototype will be made by making a thin film coating of sensing material on Alumina substrate attached with gold electrode patterns made by using advanced lithographic methods. The sensing studies will be made inside a closed glass chamber with known dimensions. The fabricated sensor will be checked to detect the biomarker VOCs α- Pinene and 3-Carene with good reversibility. This makes the sensor suitable for detection of Monoterpenes from the breath of malaria patients. Also, the sensor can be utilized for developing a handheld portable device for detection of malaria in a cost-effective way. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Saisha Vinjamuri, BMS College Of Engineering, Bangalore, Karnataka-560019, Ms. Jisha P, BMS College Of Engineering, Bangalore, Karnataka-560019 |