Development of conducting polymer sensor arrays for wound monitoring

A study of conducting polymer sensors for use in monitoring the headspace of metabolites produced from superficial wounds and bums is in progress. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) headspace analysis of the most common bacterial species found to be present in wounds has been achieved to determine the key volatile markers for sensor detection. A preliminary study of sensor arrays using seven pure volatiles known to be produced from the bacteria studied is reported [R.A. Allardyce, V.S. Langford, A.L. Hill, D.R. Murdoch, Detection of volatile metabolites produced by bacterial growth in blood culture media by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), J. Microbiol. Methods 65 (2) (2006) 361-365; R.J. Wiggins, M. Wilks, S. Tabaqchali, Analysis by gas liquid chromatography of production of volatile fatty acids by anaerobic bacteria growth on solid medium, J. Clin. Pathol. 38 (1985) 933-936]. The sensors used were based on an existing sensor array, previously used in a smart fire detection system [E. Scorsone, A.M. Pisanelli, K.C. Persaud, Development of an electronic nose for fire detection, Sens. Actuators B: Chem. 116 (2006) 55-61], and a sensor array developed from the same design and configuration has given stable results, especially towards butyric acid and ethanol. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.