Smart Sensor Systems for Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

The detection and quantification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using smart sensor systems represent cutting-edge technologies. Inspired by the human olfactory system, instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS), which often use sensor arrays, are used to detect and identify a wide range of volatile organic compounds by analysing their unique VOC profile. Smart sensor systems consisting of dynamically operated sensors—so called virtual multi sensors—have the ability to analyse VOC profiles quantitatively with a resolution comparable to standard analytical systems.

The innovative approaches of smart sensor systems have found applications across various industries, including environmental monitoring, healthcare, food quality control, and security. These devices offer numerous advantages, such as real-time monitoring, high sensitivity, improvements in selectivity and the ability to rapidly identify complex mixtures of VOCs and selectively quantify single VOCs in them. They have proven invaluable in detecting pollutants, spoilage in food products, diagnosing diseases and drug monitoring via breath analysis, and ensuring the safety of confined spaces. As the field of smart sensor systems continues to advance, it holds great promise for enhancing our ability to detect and manage VOCs in diverse settings, ultimately contributing to improved environmental protection and public health.

Original research articles, letters, as well as review papers covering the different experimental and theoretical aspects of detection and quantification of volatile organic compounds—including calibration and validation strategies as well as signal processing approaches—are welcome for submission. The scientific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Chemical sensors/biosensors;
• System design;
• Sample collection, handling and preparation;
• Field studies of VOC detection in various applications, such as the following:
  • Biomedical: disease detection and drug monitoring;
  • Environmental monitoring: outdoor and indoor;
  • Food quality: freshness of food and spoilage detection;
  • Quality assurance: e.g., monitoring recycling processes;
  • Odour assessment and comparison with human olfaction.
• Smart materials;
• Calibration and transfer of calibration strategies;
• Signal processing, including classical machine and deep learning approaches.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Schütze
Dr. Christian Bur
Dr. Carmen Bax
Guest Editors

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• chemical sensors/biosensors
• system design
• sample collection, handling and preparation
• field studies of VOC detection in various applications, such as the following:
  • biomedical: disease detection and drug monitoring
  • environmental monitoring: outdoor and indoor
  • food quality: freshness of food and spoilage detection
  • quality assurance: e.g., monitoring recycling processes
  • odour assessment and comparison with human olfaction
• smart materials
• calibration and transfer of calibration strategies
• signal processing, including classical machine and deep learning approaches