Portable and inexpensive analytical tools are required to monitor pharmaceutical quality in technology limited settings including low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Whole cell yeast biosensors have the potential to help meet this need. However, most of the read-outs for yeast biosensors require expensive equipment or reagents. To overcome this challenge, we have designed a yeast biosensor that produces a unique scent as a readout. This inducible scent biosensor, or “scentsor,” does not require the user to administer additional reagents for reporter development and utilizes only the user’s nose to be “read.” In this manuscript, we describe a scentsor that is responsive to the hormone estradiol (E2). The best estimate threshold (BET) for E2 detection with a panel of human volunteers (n = 49) is 39 nM E2 (15 nM when “non-smellers” are excluded). This concentration of E2 is sensitive enough to detect levels of E2 that would be found in dosage forms. This manuscript provides evidence that scent has potential for use in portable yeast biosensors as a read out, particularly for use in technology-limited environments.

中文翻译：

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“ Scentsor”：具有嗅觉报告器的全细胞酵母生物传感器，用于低成本和无需设备的药品检测

需要使用便携式且廉价的分析工具来监控技术受限的环境（包括中低收入国家（LMIC））中的药品质量。全细胞酵母生物传感器具有满足这一需求的潜力。但是，酵母生物传感器的大多数读数需要昂贵的设备或试剂。为了克服这一挑战，我们设计了一种酵母生物传感器，该传感器可产生独特的气味作为读数。这种可诱导的气味生物传感器或“气味传感器”不需要用户为报告基因的开发而使用其他试剂，而仅利用用户的鼻子进行“阅读”。在此手稿中，我们描述了一种对雌二醇（E2）有反应的气味剂。与一组人类志愿者（n = 49）一起检测E2的最佳估计阈值（BET）为39 nM E2（如果排除“非吸烟者”，则为15 nM）。E2的浓度足够灵敏，可以检测剂型中的E2水平。该手稿提供了证据，表明气味有潜力在便携式酵母生物传感器中用作读数，特别是在技术受限的环境中使用。