AuNP-coated cotton as VOC sensor for disease detection from breath

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, declared in March 2020, has led to several behavioral changes in the general population, such as social distanc-ing and mask usage among others. Furthermore, the sanitary emergency has stressed health system weaknesses in terms of disease prevention, diagnosis, and cure. Thus, smart technologies allowing for early and quick detection of diseases are called for. In this framework, the development of point-of-care de-vices can provide new solutions for sanitary emergencies management. This work focuses on the development of useful tools for early disease diagnosis based on nanomaterials on cotton substrates, to obtain a low-cost and easy-to-use detector of breath volatiles as disease markers. Specifically, we report en-couraging experimental results concerning acetone detection through imped-ance measurements. Such findings can pave the way to the implementation of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) sensors into personal protective equip-ment (i.e. face masks) and wearable telemedicine gadgets.