Center for International Research on Integrative Biomedical Systems (CIBiS), Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan.
Lab Chip. 2019 Jun 7;19(11):1971-1976. doi: 10.1039/c9lc00131j. Epub 2019 Apr 18.
Biohybrid odorant sensors (BOSs) composed of biological materials and artificial detectors have recently attracted much attention due to their high degree of sensitivity and selectivity. Although portability is crucial for the practical use of BOSs on site, the currently used artificial detectors for biological signals are unportable. In this study, we propose a portable cell-based odorant sensor, which uses cell-laden collagen micropillars to compensate the low optical abilities of portable artificial detectors. The micropillars were composed of HEK293T cells expressing olfactory receptors, which emit a fluorescence signal based on the extent of odorant stimulation using a calcium fluorescent indicator. By stacking cells vertically in the micropillars, we achieved different levels of amplification of the fluorescence signals by varying the height of the micropillars. As a working demonstration of the portable BOS, we successfully detected different concentrations of odorants using an inexpensive web camera. The BOS was also able to distinguish the slight differences between an agonist and an antagonist. We believe that the portability of our BOS would facilitate its applications in point-of-care testing and on-site detection of hazardous materials.
生物混合气味传感器（BOSs）由生物材料和人工探测器组成，由于其高灵敏度和选择性，最近引起了广泛关注。尽管便携性对于 BOSs 在现场的实际应用至关重要，但目前用于生物信号的人工探测器不便于携带。在本研究中，我们提出了一种基于细胞的便携式气味传感器，该传感器使用载有细胞的胶原质微柱来补偿便携式人工探测器的低光学能力。微柱由表达嗅觉受体的 HEK293T 细胞组成，这些细胞使用钙荧光指示剂根据气味刺激的程度发出荧光信号。通过将细胞垂直堆叠在微柱中，我们通过改变微柱的高度来实现荧光信号的不同程度放大。作为便携式 BOS 的工作演示，我们成功地使用廉价的网络摄像头检测了不同浓度的气味。BOS 还能够区分激动剂和拮抗剂之间的细微差异。我们相信，我们的 BOS 的便携性将有助于其在即时检测和现场检测有害物质方面的应用。
