The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a sensor for the real-time detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are free radicals that can lead into aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, there is no standard measuring protocol for ROS, causing mixed interpretation and clinical diagnoses of biomarkers. A highly sensitive, real-time sensor for ROS was developed with significant advantages over existing methods. This sensor may improve current clinical and cosmetic practices and help in the prevention of diseases associated with free radicals. This technology also may provide an industrial standard protocol for measuring free radicals, which would contribute to more reliable results. This technology also may be used in food packaging and food distributing industries for monitoring chemical and microbial contamination in food. In addition, it also may have environmental applications, as the sensor could help to provide better control of the free radicals in the advanced oxidation process for contaminated groundwater remediation.
This I-Corps project is based on the development of a super-sensitive sensor for the detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The technology consists of an electrode modified with a composite comprising ultra-small cerium oxide nanoparticles anchored to a highly conductive carbon support. The strong affinity of cerium oxide toward hydroxyl free radicals was used to develop a composite sensor for real-time detection. The impedance signal generated from the interaction between the sample and the sensor is used to detect the type and concentration of ROS, with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.006 mM of hydroxyl free radicals, as compared to LODs of 0.1-10 mM with other methods. A hand-held detection device has been designed and fabricated using a 3D printer, and this has been successfully tested in various liquid and tissue samples in vitro.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
