Axillary odor is a malodor produced by bacterial metabolism near the apocrine glands, which often causes discomfort in an individual's daily life and social interactions. A deodorant is a personal ...care product designed to alleviate or mask body odor. Currently, most deodorants contain antimicrobial chemicals and fragrances for odor management; however, direct application to the underarm skin can result in irritation or sensitivity. Therefore, there is a growing interest in technologies that enable disinfection and odor control without the antiperspirants or perfumes. The cold atmospheric plasma temporally generates reactive radicals that can eliminate bacteria and surrounding odors. In this study, cultured Staphylococcus hominis and Corynebacterium xerosis, the causative bacteria of axillary bromhidrosis, were killed after 90% plasma exposure for 3 min. Moreover, the electronic nose system indicated a significant reduction of approximately 51% in 3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid and approximately 34% in 3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol, the primary components of axillary odor, following a 5-min plasma exposure. These results support the dual function of our deodorant in eliminating bacteria and axillary odors without the chemical agents. Therefore, cold atmospheric plasma-applied deodorant devices have great potential for the treatment and management of axillary odors as a non-contact approach without chemical use in daily life.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gaseous chemicals found in ambient air and exhaled breath. In particular, highly reactive aldehydes are frequently found in polluted air and have been linked to ...various diseases. Thus, extensive studies have been carried out to elucidate disease-specific aldehydes released from the body to develop potential biomarkers for diagnostic purposes. Mammals possess innate sensory systems, such as receptors and ion channels, to detect these VOCs and maintain physiological homeostasis. Recently, electronic biosensors such as the electronic nose have been developed for disease diagnosis. This review aims to present an overview of natural sensory receptors that can detect reactive aldehydes, as well as electronic noses that have the potential to diagnose certain diseases. In this regard, this review focuses on eight aldehydes that are well-defined as biomarkers in human health and disease. It offers insights into the biological aspects and technological advances in detecting aldehyde-containing VOCs. Therefore, this review will aid in understanding the role of aldehyde-containing VOCs in human health and disease and the technological advances for improved diagnosis.
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•Aldehyde-containing VOCs are reactive gases in ambient air and exhaled breath.•Mammals contain innate biological sensory receptors to cope with these VOCs.•Also, disease-specific aldehydes are found in the body due to abnormal metabolism.•Electronic noses are developed to detect these VOCs for diagnostic purposes.•This review covers biological receptors and electronic noses for aldehydes.
To stop smoking is often hampered by the addictive nature of nicotine, even when smokers are aware of its harmful effects. Hence, healthcare providers should manage cessation programs for smokers. A ...quantitative method of analyzing tobacco use is needed to accurately diagnose addicted smokers and provide alternatives, such as nicotine patches. Although numerous sensors have been developed to measure levels of nicotine that reflect tobacco smoking, those that analyze saliva from smokers remains challenging in terms of on-site application. We therefore constructed a biomimetic system using the human smoking-responsive respiratory tract receptor, transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), to quantify amounts of smoking. TRPA1-overexpressed nanovesicles (TRPA1-NV) were attached to a carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode coated with a Ca2+ ion selective membrane (TRPA1-NV/ISM-CNT) to prevent non-selective responses and detect TRPA1-mediated Ca2+ movement. The TRPA1-NV/ISM-CNT sensor detected pM levels of nicotine and crotonaldehyde in saliva from smokers and did not respond to capsaicin, glucose, and acetic acid, that are potential contaminants in saliva. Our sensor dose-dependently responded to artificial saliva exposed to tobacco smoke and to saliva from smokers, without complex preparatory processes. Our TRPA1-NV/ISM-CNT sensor rapidly and accurately quantified salivary nicotine and crotonaldehyde that indicate smoking habits in real time on-site.
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•Quantitative methods aid addiction diagnosis and offering smoking alternatives.•TRPA1 channel is a smoking-responsive respiratory tract receptor in humans.•TRPA1 sensor detects nicotine and crotonaldehyde levels for smoking analysis.•TRPA1 sensor showed dose-dependent response to tobacco-smoked saliva samples.•TRPA1 sensor allows for on-site rapid real-time analysis of smoking habits.
