The ability to detect and identify substances based on the volatile compounds (odors) they emit is relied upon heavily for numerous investigative purposes. Animals have an innate olfactory sensitivity and selectivity that out-performs current instrumentation. This has led to immense interest in their employment as chemical sensors for a range of applications, including forensic science, both as whole organisms and as sensing elements in biosensors. Using electrophysiological and calcium imaging assays, this research examined the response of Drosophila melanogaster olfactory receptors (ORs) to odor compounds significant in forensic science and assessed their potential utility as volatile compound sensors. This investigation illustrated the different sensitivities, selectivities, and sensing features of individual ORs and demonstrated that their employment for detection purposes is feasible. While further research expanding on this study will be required to demonstrate the performance characteristics that an OR-based detection system will ultimately possess, this research provides an encouraging first step towards the goal of utilizing isolated biological ORs as volatile compound sensors in forensic science.

出于多种研究目的，很大程度上取决于检测和识别基于其散发的挥发性化合物（气味）的物质的能力。动物具有先天的嗅觉敏感性和选择性，其性能优于目前的仪器。这引起了人们对其在化学传感器中的广泛应用的兴趣，这些化学传感器既可以作为整个生物体也可以作为生物传感器中的传感元件用于法医学等领域。使用电生理和钙成像分析，这项研究检查了果蝇的反应。嗅觉受体（OR）对法医学具有重要意义的气味化合物，并评估了它们作为挥发性化合物传感器的潜在用途。这项研究说明了各个OR的不同敏感性，选择性和感测特征，并证明了将其用于检测目的是可行的。尽管需要进一步扩展研究以证明基于OR的检测系统最终将具有的性能特征，但这项研究为朝着将分离的生物OR用作法医学中的挥发性化合物传感器的目标提供了令人鼓舞的第一步。