Skip to main content

Sniffing lung cancer related biomarkers using an oxidized graphene SAW sensor

Frontiers of Physics volume 11, Article number: 116801 (2016) Cite this article

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. Y. Adiguzel and H. Kulah, Breath sensors for lung cancer diagnosis, Biosens Bioelectron 65C, 121 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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 crosssectional study, Lancet 353(9168), 1930 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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, ChemInform, 37 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  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 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. M. Penza, C. Martucci, and G. Cassano, NOx gas sensing characteristics of WO3 thin films activated by noble metals (Pd, Pt, Au) layers, Sens. Actuators B Chem. 50(1), 52 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  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)

    Google Scholar 

  24. A. M. Committee, Recommendations for the definition, estimation and use of the detection limit, Analyst 112(2), 199 (1987)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, 410073, China

    Xin-Fang Zhang  (张鑫方), Zheng-Wei Zhang  (张正伟), Yan-Lan He  (何焰兰), Yi-Xing Liu  (刘一星), Shuang Li  (黎双), Jing-Yue Fang  (方靖越), Xue-Ao Zhang  (张学骜) & Gang Peng  (彭刚)

Authors
  1. Xin-Fang Zhang  (张鑫方)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zheng-Wei Zhang  (张正伟)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yan-Lan He  (何焰兰)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yi-Xing Liu  (刘一星)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shuang Li  (黎双)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jing-Yue Fang  (方靖越)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Xue-Ao Zhang  (张学骜)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Gang Peng  (彭刚)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gang Peng  (彭刚).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, XF., Zhang, ZW., He, YL. et al. Sniffing lung cancer related biomarkers using an oxidized graphene SAW sensor. Front. Phys. 11, 116801 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-015-0519-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-015-0519-4

Keywords

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