Rapid testing is essential to fighting pandemics such as COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Exhaled human breath contains multiple volatile molecules providing powerful potential for non-invasive diagnosis of diverse medical conditions. We investigated breath detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection using cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy (CE-DFCS), a state-of-the-art laser spectroscopic technique capable of a real-time massive collection of broadband molecular absorption features at ro-vibrational quantum state resolution and at parts-per-trillion volume detection sensitivity. Using a total of 170 individual breath samples (83 positive and 87 negative with SARS-CoV-2 based on Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction tests), we report excellent discrimination capability for SARS-CoV-2 infection with an area under the Receiver-Operating-Characteristics curve of 0.849(4). Our results support the development of CE-DFCS as an alternative, rapid, non-invasive test for COVID-19 and highlight its remarkable potential for optical diagnoses of diverse biological conditions and disease states.
@article{arxiv.2202.02321,
title = {Breath analysis by ultra-sensitive broadband laser spectroscopy detects SARS-CoV-2 infection},
author = {Qizhong Liang and Ya-Chu Chan and Jutta Toscano and Kristen K. Bjorkman and Leslie A. Leinwand and Roy Parker and Eva S. Nozik and David J. Nesbitt and Jun Ye},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.02321},
year = {2023}
}