Chemical Vapor Detection Using a Reconstituted Insect Olfactory Receptor Complex

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2014-10, Vol.53 (44), p.11798-11802
• Main Authors: Sato, Koji, Takeuchi, Shoji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Arrays; Biosensing Techniques - methods; biosensors; Gas sensors; Indoor air quality; Insecta; Insects; Ion channels; Ligands; Mucus; olfaction; Peptides; Receptors; Receptors, Odorant - chemistry; Spheroids; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - chemistry
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201404720

The sensing of vapor odorants is highly demanded in the field of life and medical sciences. Although olfactory receptors (ORs) have potentials to recognize volatile organic compounds, the interaction of ORs, chemical vapors, and peptide components in olfactory mucus has yet to be analyzed to develop OR‐based sensors. A bioinspired electrophysiology technique is shown to record the response of reconstituted insect ORs to chemical vapors. To mimic the interface between ORs and olfactory mucus, OR expressing spheroids were loaded into a hydrogel microchamber array. A negative extracellular field potential shift of spheroids was successfully observed by the stimulation of their vapor cognate ligand. Importantly, the ligand repertoire of the OR of malaria vector mosquito examined by this method differed from that of in vivo studies. Our method is useful to develop protein‐based gas sensing techniques and to examine the binding of ORs and chemical vapors. Gas sensing by ion channels: Insect olfactory receptors consist of ligand‐gated ion channels. Using cell assembly and extracellular field potential recording techniques, olfactory receptor‐expressing cell spheroids were formed (see picture). The spheroids electrically responded to chemical vapors at biologically relevant concentrations.