SYSTEMS FOR DETECTION
Devices, systems, and methods detect compounds, such as odorant compounds. Patterns of electrical signals are detected with a given pattern associated with a given compound or a mixture of compounds such that a presence of the given compound or mixture of compounds can be determined.
1 . A device comprising:
(a) a spatially addressable array comprising a plurality of chambers, wherein each chamber comprises:
(i) a cell modified to express a unique odorant receptor profile; and
(ii) an electrode configured to measure an electrical signal in the cell, and
(b) a controller configured to (i) receive the measured electrical signals from the plurality of chambers and (ii) determine a presence or an absence of one or more compounds based on the measured electrical signals.
2 . The device of claim 1 wherein the electrode directly measures electrical activity in another cell that is in communication with the cell modified to express the unique odorant receptor profile.
3 . The device of claim 1 wherein the unique odorant receptor profile comprises an odorant receptor capable of binding two or more compounds.
4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the device is capable of individually detecting a presence or an absence of the two or more compounds.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the presence or the absence of the one or more compounds comprises measuring an amount of the one or more compounds.
6 . The device of claim 1 wherein the cell comprises a genetic modification.
7 . The device of claim 1 wherein the cell is a neuron.
8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the cell is a human cell.
9 . The device of claim 1 wherein the spatially addressable array comprises greater than three unique odorant receptor profiles.
10 . The device of claim 1 wherein the device is configured to detect at least two different types of compounds.
11 . The device of claim 1 wherein the cell detects more than one type of compound.
12 . The device of claim 1 wherein the cell is modified to express at least two unique odorant receptor profiles.
13 . The device of claim 1 wherein the electrode is a three-dimensional electrode.
14 . The device of claim 1 wherein the electrode comprises a microelectrode array having a plurality of three-dimensional electrodes, each three-dimensional electrode projecting into only one of the chambers.
15 . A method of detecting a presence or absence of one or more compounds in an environment, comprising:
(a) placing a spatially addressable array in the environment, wherein the spatially addressable array comprises a plurality of chambers, each chamber comprising: (i) a cell modified to express a unique odorant receptor profile; and (ii) an electrode configured to measure an electrical signal in the cell; and
(b) detecting the presence or the absence of the one or more compounds based the measured electrical signals from the plurality of chambers.
16 . The method of claim 15 further comprising comparing a signaling pattern to one or more signaling patterns associated with one or more reference compounds.
17 . The method of claim 15 wherein the spatially addressable array comprises greater than three unique odorant receptor profiles.
18 . The method of claim 15 wherein the cell is modified to express at least two unique odorant receptor profiles selected from the unique odorant receptor profiles.
19 . The device of claim 1 wherein the electrode is a three-dimensional electrode.