NANOTECHCENTER

NanoTechCenter (Kyiv) recently welcomed scientists from Portugal. Researchers from DeepTechLab (Lisbon) arrived at the Kyiv laboratory — not by chance, but as part of a large-scale international project.

What is the project?

E-NOSE is an initiative funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme. The goal is both simple and ambitious: to create an “electronic nose” — a device capable of diagnosing diseases by analysing the composition of exhaled air. Nine organisations from eight countries have joined forces to turn this idea into reality.

Why NanoTechCenter?

NanoTechCenter is one of the key participants in the project. It houses unique equipment and dedicated production lines for nanomaterials that form the basis of the new sensors. That is precisely why the Portuguese colleagues from DeepTechLab chose Kyiv: together with Ukrainian scientists, they studied materials that will ultimately “teach” the device to recognise diseases.

What did they work on together?

The Portuguese visit was tied to several areas of joint work.

Under WP1 (nanomaterials development), the NanoTechCenter and DeepTechLab teams jointly synthesised and studied hierarchically structured nanopowders based on metal oxides — the very materials from which the sensitive elements of the future electronic nose will be made. NanoTechCenter contributed electron microscopy and structural analysis, while the Portuguese side handled thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy.

In WP3 (sensor testing and calibration), both teams developed technical specifications for the multi-sensor system and tested how the new materials perform under conditions close to real-world use.

The Portuguese team’s key responsibility is WP4, where DeepTechLab leads the development of a microprocessor-based signal processing module. This compact device must read the outputs of multiple sensors in real time and convert them into a meaningful result — all while consuming less than 10 mW of power.

Finally, in WP5, NanoTechCenter takes on the practical testing of the entire system: verifying whether the device can truly detect diseases through exhaled air analysis, and preparing recommendations for the final prototype.

Why does this matter?

If successful, the result will be a compact device — possibly integrated into an everyday gadget — capable of detecting respiratory and cardiovascular diseases at an early stage, simply by analysing a person’s breath. No pain, no lab tests, no wasted time. And this is exactly what the team at Kyiv’s NanoTechCenter is working on today — together with partners from Portugal.