Networking Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ 07102, USA.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY 10023, USA.
Biosensors (Basel). 2020 Dec 31;11(1):14. doi: 10.3390/bios11010014.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers saliva contact the lead transmission means of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Saliva droplets or aerosols expelled by heavy breathing, talking, sneezing, and coughing may carry this virus. People in close distance may be exposed directly or indirectly to these droplets, especially those droplets that fall on surrounding surfaces and people may end up contracting COVID-19 after touching the mucosa tissue on their faces. It is of great interest to quickly and effectively detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in an environment, but the existing methods only work in laboratory settings, to the best of our knowledge. However, it may be possible to detect the presence of saliva in the environment and proceed with prevention measures. However, detecting saliva itself has not been documented in the literature. On the other hand, many sensors that detect different organic components in saliva to monitor a person's health and diagnose different diseases that range from diabetes to dental health have been proposed and they may be used to detect the presence of saliva. This paper surveys sensors that detect organic and inorganic components of human saliva. Humidity sensors are also considered in the detection of saliva because a large portion of saliva is water. Moreover, sensors that detect infectious viruses are also included as they may also be embedded into saliva sensors for a confirmation of the virus' presence. A classification of sensors by their working principle and the substance they detect is presented. This comparison lists their specifications, sample size, and sensitivity. Indications of which sensors are portable and suitable for field application are presented. This paper also discusses future research and challenges that must be resolved to realize practical saliva sensors. Such sensors may help minimize the spread of not only COVID-19 but also other infectious diseases.
美国疾病控制与预防中心认为，唾液接触是严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的主要传播途径，该病毒可导致 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）。剧烈呼吸、说话、打喷嚏和咳嗽时呼出的唾液飞沫或气溶胶可能携带这种病毒。近距离的人可能会直接或间接暴露于这些飞沫中，尤其是落在周围表面的飞沫，人们在触摸面部黏膜组织后可能会感染 COVID-19。快速有效地检测环境中 SARS-CoV-2 的存在具有重要意义，但据我们所知，现有的方法仅在实验室环境中有效。然而，有可能检测环境中唾液的存在并采取预防措施。但是，在文献中尚未记录到检测唾液本身的方法。另一方面，已经提出了许多用于检测唾液中不同有机成分以监测人体健康和诊断从糖尿病到口腔健康等不同疾病的传感器，它们可能用于检测唾液的存在。本文调查了用于检测人唾液中有机和无机成分的传感器。由于唾液的大部分成分是水，因此也考虑了湿度传感器在唾液检测中的应用。此外，还包括了用于检测传染性病毒的传感器，因为它们也可能嵌入到唾液传感器中以确认病毒的存在。本文按工作原理和检测物质对传感器进行了分类。列出了它们的规格、样本量和灵敏度。还展示了哪些传感器是便携式的，适合现场应用的指示。本文还讨论了未来研究和必须解决的挑战，以实现实用的唾液传感器。这些传感器不仅有助于减少 COVID-19 等传染病的传播，还可能有助于减少其他传染病的传播。
