NIST/JILA’s Frequency Comb Breathalyzer
NIST/JILA Fellows Jun Ye and David Nesbitt built a breathalyzer that identifies biomarkers of disease by measuring the colors and amounts of light absorbed as a laser frequency comb passes through breath samples inside a glass tube. Credit: J. Wang/NIST
JILA scientists have boosted the sensitivity of their decade-old frequency comb breathalyzer a thousandfold and can detect additional biomarkers of disease — four now, with the potential for six more. When validated and engineered into a portable design, the comb system could offer real-time, noninvasive analysis of human breath to detect and monitor diseases. JILA is jointly operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder.
The JILA system “fingerprints” chemicals by measuring the colors and amounts of light absorbed as a laser frequency comb passes back and forth through breath samples loaded into a mirrored glass tube. Recent upgrades include a shift in the light spectrum analyzed from the near-infrared to the mid-infrared band, where more molecules absorb light, and advances in optical coatings and several other technologies to achieve detection sensitivity up to the parts-per-trillion level.
As described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NIST/JILA Fellows Jun Ye and David Nesbitt detected and monitored four biomarkers — methanol (CH3OH), methane (CH4), water (H2O) and a form of heavy water (HDO) — in the breath of a volunteer. These are indicators of health conditions such as, in the case of methane, intestinal problems.
The researchers say it is feasible to use the same apparatus to detect six more chemicals: formaldehyde, ethane, carbonyl sulfide, ethy ..
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