A Handheld Microchip for GC Analysis of Breath to Screen for COVID-19

Background: This study was performed to develop a diagnostic approach that was non-invasive, portable, and could rapidly provide test results. The overall goal of the study was to develop a mobile breath analysis technology for rapid screening for COVID-19 using a handheld breath collection tool and a portable gas chromograph (GC) with a photoionization detector (PID).

Materials/Methods: A handheld tool was used as a closed system for trapping target volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on a microfabricated chip. The captured VOCs were eluted with a solvent and then analyzed using a portable GC-PID instrument. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms were applied to recognize the VOC pattern that correlated with COVID-19 infection. The central innovation was the microfabricated chip that captured VOCs in exhaled breath and served as a preconcentrator, which enabled analysis of the captured VOCs by the portable GC-PID.

Outcome/Impact: The study addressed a need by adapting a proven, highly sensitive breath analysis technology that profiles trace-level volatile carbonyls to detect infection by SARS-CoV-2. An approach that chemoselectively isolates carbonyl compounds from exhaled breath at concentrations as low as the picomolar range was ideally suited to monitor even subtle changes in carbonyl production, as might be expected with SARS-CoV-2 patients that are pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic.