Detection of Ethanol and Interferents in Breath: Validation of a Novel Technology

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Among drugs that cause widespread human suffering, none is more destructive than ethanol. The estimated annual cost of ethanol abuse in the United States is 185B. A new breath-based toxicological tool with superior capabilities dedicated to understanding the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of ethanol is needed to combat alcohol abuse and understand its origins. Current devices used to measure ethanol in human breath rely on technologies that are several decades old, which limit the sensitivity and specificity of ethanol detection and poorly separate ethanol from confounding analytes in breath. We propose to develop a new generation of evidential (generates high quality data that is directly introduced into courts as legal evidence) breath-based ethanol sensors to combat ethanol abuse in the 21st century. A multi-disciplinary team (physicians, engineers, chemists, addiction experts, and forensic toxicologists) will collectively develop a miniature gas chromatograph metal oxide sensor (mGC-MOS) device for real-time, point-of-use detection of ethanol and other analytes. NIAAA SBIR Phase I support was used to 1) design and construct a mGC-MOS to detect ethanol in real-time, 2) demonstrate the mGC-MOS has outstanding specificity and accuracy, and can readily discriminated between ethanol and other analytes (e.g., acetone, methanol), which commonly interfere with the function of present sensor technologies, and 3) establish mGC-MOS accuracy in humans intoxicated with ethanol in the University of Florida (UF) General Clinical Research Center (GCRC). We now propose to expand this work to refine, construct, and examine the performance characteristics of the next generation breath ethanol analyzer, an evidential mGC-MOS. To that end, the following 3 specific aims will be achieved: Specific Aim 1: Design and build an improved mGC-MOS device with a single GC column (vis- -vis current dual column configuration) that accurately and precisely measures ethanol concentrations in real-time. (Milestone: 10/31/2010). Specific Aim 2: Demonstrate that the mGC-MOS meets or exceeds evidential breath analyzer performance using established industry standards as enumerated by the Organisation Internationale de Metrologie Legale. (Milestone: 12/31/2010). Specific Aim 3: Validate and use the mGC-MOS as a research tool to investigate the pharmacokinetic/dynamic and cognitive effects of a moderate dose of alcohol in older and younger social drinkers. (Milestone: 03/31/2012). The mGC-MOS being developed will not only 1) provide a superior dataset from ethanol PK/PD clinical studies, but also 2) improve testing in law enforcement and workplace settings by bringing the power of evidential ethanol breath analysis to point-of-use environments, while markedly lowering the cost of evidential testing (lt 1,000 mGC-MOS system versus gt 100,000 current units). Our long term goal is to expand the utility of this novel mGC-MOS technology in order to effectively address other major medical problems, including drugs of abuse, medication adherence, and functional interrogation of CYP-450 enzyme competency. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Current devices used to measure ethanol in human breath rely on technologies that are several decades old, which limit the sensitivity and specificity of ethanol detection and poorly separate ethanol from confounding analytes in human breath. We propose to develop a new generation of portable, evidential breath-based ethanol sensors with superior capabilities to understand the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ethanol and to combat ethanol abuse in the 21st century. PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 11/07) Page Continuation Format Page