Paper Based Enzymatic Chemiresistor for POC Detection of Ethanol in Human Breath

A paper based chemiresistor has been fabricated to selectively sense ethanol in human breath. The chemiresistor was composed of a sensing mixture of multiwall-carbon-nano-tubes (MWCNTs), poly (diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride) (PDDA), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and coenzyme (NADH). The aluminum electrode was deposited on the paper surface, followed by drop-casting of the aforementioned sensing mixture. The resistance of the sensors was measured by exposing the same in gas-vapor mixture as well as the sample solution. The surface-modified MWCNTs specifically broke down ethanol present in the gas-vapor mixture or in a solution to generate a quantitative electronic response proportional to the ethanol concentration. Subsequently, the interference of other volatile organic materials was also tested to prove the selectivity and sensitivity of the sensor towards ethanol in the presence of different volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The variation of the resistance during the interaction between sensor and ethanol was also characterized by measuring the surface potential of the channel material under ethanol exposure using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). The sensor was integrated with a voltage divider circuit, a display, and a microcontroller unit to make a proof-of-concept prototype for the point-of-care (POC) detection of ethanol in human breath.