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 burns 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.