Temple researchers smell success with biosensor project

We sense a trend. The Temple University School of Medicine announced this week that it had developed an [u]olfactory receptor-based[/u] biosensor capable of sniffing out explosives. By genetic engineering a yeast strain with the olfactory chemical signaling machinery of a rat and the expression of green fluorescent protein, the sensor is able to signal when DNT, a componant of TNT, is nearby. The research team is the first to identify, clone and sequence this novel olfactory receptor. “We suspected that harnessing the potential of the olfactory system, which can detect innumerable chemical agents with unparalleled sensitivity and selectivity, would be of immense value in the detection of environmental toxins and chemical warfare agents even at sublethal levels,” said professor Danny Dhanasekaran. Although Dhanasekeran intends to create a handheld sensor of some undetermined type, the technology may also have valuable applications in the screening of experimental medications.