Early Detection of Volatile Tumor Biomarkers Using Chemoresistive Sensors and MEMS-Based Preconcentration: A Study on K562 Cell Line

Melissa Tamisari; Elena Spagnoli; Maria Altieri; Michele Astolfi; Monica Borgatti; Giulia Breveglieri; Ivan Elmi; Vincenzo Guidi; Luca Masini; Arianna Rossi; Giuseppe Sabbioni; Emanuela Tavaglione; Stefano Zampolli; Barbara Fabbri

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Early Detection of Volatile Tumor Biomarkers Using Chemoresistive Sensors and MEMS-Based Preconcentration: A Study on K562 Cell Line

Melissa Tamisari

^{*

1},

Elena Spagnoli

²,

Maria Teresa Altieri

³,

Michele Astolfi

¹,

Monica Borgatti

³,

Giulia Breveglieri

³,

²,

⁴,

²,

⁴,

Giuseppe Sabbioni

³,

Emanuela Tavaglione

⁴,

Stefano Zampolli

²,

Barbara Fabbri

⁴

¹ Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
² National Research Council (CNR), Institute for Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
³ Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
⁴ Department of Physics and Earth Science, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1/C, 44122 Ferrara, Italy

Academic Editor: Jean-marc Laheurte

Published: 07 November 2025 by MDPI in The 12th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications session Wearable Sensors and Healthcare Applications

https://doi.org/10.3390/ECSA-12-26565 (registering DOI)

Abstract:

The analysis of volatile organic compounds emitted by cell cultures provides a non-invasive method for monitoring metabolic and oxidative stress states. However, detection is challenged by low volatile organic compounds concentrations and high sample humidity. This study introduces an integrated system combining a MEMS-based pre-concentrator with an array of n-type metal-oxides chemiresistive gas sensors to analyze emissions from the K562 leukemia cell line. The main goal is to distinguish cellular volatile organic compounds signals from those of the culture medium. To achieve this, the pre-concentrator is used with different temperature-programmed desorption protocols to enhance signal intensity and improve discrimination performance.

Keywords: VOCs ; chemoresistive gas sensor; Gas Emission Analysis

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