In 2017, aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus agreed to a partnership with a Silicon Valley startup named Koniku Inc., to develop an “electronic nose” that could detect explosives in airports and on aircraft. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, however, Airbus said they are pivoting to incorporate “biological hazard detection” capabilities into the e-nose. They expect to conduct in-situ testing by later-2020.
The biotechnology solution is molecular-based. Oshiorenoya Agabi, founder of Koniku, told the Financial Times that Koniku’s scientists genetically modify either HEK cells (kidney stem cells) or astrocytes (brain cells) to have olfactory receptors that can identify compounds by smell. Essentially, the e-nose continually “smells” the air looking for molecules associated with known explosives or biohazards. When a potentially harmful molecule binds to the living cells inside the e-nose, an identification is made and the proper authorities are alerted.
This all occurs within 10 seconds or less. In fact, according to Koniku, its sensors can uniquely identify bioweapons with high specificity (either directly or through metabolites) in milliseconds. A single chip includes redundant neurons that can detect explosives simultaneously, and react to new threats in just hours.
While the synthetic biotechnology tech is new, the idea behind sensing differences in a person’s breath is not. Medical doctors and scientists have hypothesized for hundreds of years that certain diseases cause detectable changes in a person’s breath. For example, breath that smells overly fruity could be a sign of diabetes, as acetone builds up to a dangerous level in a person’s body. Researchers in the forensic space are continually developing methods and tools to sense specific metabolites present in a person’s breath after they have indulged in drugs, especially cannabis. In relation to COVID-19, researchers think they can auditorily differentiate between types of coughs in infected versus non-infected people. Although it is not approved as a diagnostic tool, a team at Carnegie Mellon have trained an algorithm and created an app to do just that.
The Airbus/Koniku e-nose is currently in the prototype phrase. In photos (like the one above), the purple-tinted device appears to be able to “suction” to a variety of surfaces both on an aircraft and in an airport. While airport security systems are notoriously controversial (and somewhat ineffective), Airbus says this e-nose is specially “developed to meet the rigorous operational regulatory requirements of aircraft and airport security operations.”
The aerospace corporation plans to conduct in-situ test of the e-nose in late-2020.
Photo: Aircraft cabin with biotechnology solution for aviation security operations. Credit: Airbus