Performance of a Novel Electronic Nose for the Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds Relating to Starvation or Human Decomposition Post-Mass Disaster.

Sunnucks, EJ; Thurn, B; Brown, AO; Zhang, W; Liu, T; Forbes, SL; Su, S; Ueland, M

Performance of a Novel Electronic Nose for the Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds Relating to Starvation or Human Decomposition Post-Mass Disaster.

Sunnucks, EJ Thurn, B Brown, AO Zhang, W Liu, T Forbes, SL Su, S

Ueland, M

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Publisher:: MDPI
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sensors (Basel), 2024, 24, (18), pp. 5918
Issue Date:: 2024-09-12

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sunnucks, EJ
dc.contributor.author	Thurn, B
dc.contributor.author	Brown, AO
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, W
dc.contributor.author	Liu, T
dc.contributor.author	Forbes, SL
dc.contributor.author	Su, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5720-8852
dc.contributor.author	Ueland, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9155-3502
dc.date.accessioned	2024-12-02T00:56:00Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-10
dc.date.available	2024-12-02T00:56:00Z
dc.date.issued	2024-09-12
dc.identifier.citation	Sensors (Basel), 2024, 24, (18), pp. 5918
dc.identifier.issn	1424-8220
dc.identifier.issn	1424-8220
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182185
dc.description.abstract	There has been a recent increase in the frequency of mass disaster events. Following these events, the rapid location of victims is paramount. Currently, the most reliable search method is scent detection dogs, which use their sense of smell to locate victims accurately and efficiently. Despite their efficacy, they have limited working times, can give false positive responses, and involve high costs. Therefore, alternative methods for detecting volatile compounds are needed, such as using electronic noses (e-noses). An e-nose named the 'NOS.E' was developed and has been used successfully to detect VOCs released from human remains in an open-air environment. However, the system's full capabilities are currently unknown, and therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the NOS.E to determine the efficacy of detection and expected sensor response. This was achieved using analytical standards representative of known human ante-mortem and decomposition VOCs. Standards were air diluted in Tedlar gas sampling bags and sampled using the NOS.E. This study concluded that the e-nose could detect and differentiate a range of VOCs prevalent in ante-mortem and decomposition VOC profiles, with an average LOD of 7.9 ppm, across a range of different chemical classes. The NOS.E was then utilized in a simulated mass disaster scenario using donated human cadavers, where the system showed a significant difference between the known human donor and control samples from day 3 post-mortem. Overall, the NOS.E was advantageous: the system had low detection limits while offering portability, shorter sampling times, and lower costs than dogs and benchtop analytical instruments.
dc.format	Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE210100494
dc.relation.ispartof	Sensors (Basel)
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/s24185918
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0301 Analytical Chemistry, 0502 Environmental Science and Management, 0602 Ecology, 0805 Distributed Computing, 0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
dc.subject.classification	Analytical Chemistry
dc.subject.classification	3103 Ecology
dc.subject.classification	4008 Electrical engineering
dc.subject.classification	4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware
dc.subject.classification	4104 Environmental management
dc.subject.classification	4606 Distributed computing and systems software
dc.subject.mesh	Electronic Nose
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Volatile Organic Compounds
dc.subject.mesh	Disasters
dc.subject.mesh	Odorants
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Disasters
dc.subject.mesh	Volatile Organic Compounds
dc.subject.mesh	Electronic Nose
dc.subject.mesh	Odorants
dc.subject.mesh	Electronic Nose
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Volatile Organic Compounds
dc.subject.mesh	Disasters
dc.subject.mesh	Odorants
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.title	Performance of a Novel Electronic Nose for the Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds Relating to Starvation or Human Decomposition Post-Mass Disaster.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	24
utslib.location.activity	Switzerland
utslib.for	0301 Analytical Chemistry
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	0602 Ecology
utslib.for	0805 Distributed Computing
utslib.for	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Electrical and Data Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Health Technologies (CHT)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Forensic Science (CFS)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2024-12-02T00:55:53Z
pubs.issue	18
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	24
utslib.citation.issue	18

Abstract:

There has been a recent increase in the frequency of mass disaster events. Following these events, the rapid location of victims is paramount. Currently, the most reliable search method is scent detection dogs, which use their sense of smell to locate victims accurately and efficiently. Despite their efficacy, they have limited working times, can give false positive responses, and involve high costs. Therefore, alternative methods for detecting volatile compounds are needed, such as using electronic noses (e-noses). An e-nose named the 'NOS.E' was developed and has been used successfully to detect VOCs released from human remains in an open-air environment. However, the system's full capabilities are currently unknown, and therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the NOS.E to determine the efficacy of detection and expected sensor response. This was achieved using analytical standards representative of known human ante-mortem and decomposition VOCs. Standards were air diluted in Tedlar gas sampling bags and sampled using the NOS.E. This study concluded that the e-nose could detect and differentiate a range of VOCs prevalent in ante-mortem and decomposition VOC profiles, with an average LOD of 7.9 ppm, across a range of different chemical classes. The NOS.E was then utilized in a simulated mass disaster scenario using donated human cadavers, where the system showed a significant difference between the known human donor and control samples from day 3 post-mortem. Overall, the NOS.E was advantageous: the system had low detection limits while offering portability, shorter sampling times, and lower costs than dogs and benchtop analytical instruments.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182185