Prof. Alan Gelperin, Monell Chemical Senses Center & University of Pennsylvania, USA: “Olfaction with DNA-Coated Nanotubes”

Advances in electronic olfaction are hindered by the lack of a large, diverse and sensitive sensor array. We address this problem with a new sensor technology: DNA-coated nanotube-based FETs. An overview of the contribution of this new sensor technology to the evolution of a new generation of electronic olfactory systems will be presented.

Prof. Peter Mombaerts, Department of Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Germany: "How a mouse smells"

The mouse olfactory system employs a repertoire of >1200 odorant receptors to detect chemicals with widely varying structures. A major unresolved problem is the specificity of these odorant receptors. We make use of gene targeting technology to express GFP specifically in olfactory sensory neurons that express one particular odorant receptor gene. These neurons are then used as a 'homologous' expression system for the identification of odorous ligands.

Prof. Ping Wang, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, China: "Progress in biomimetic artificial nose and tongue"

We will describe smell and taste sensors mimicking the mammalian olfaction and taste, and, in parallel,  mimetic signal processing methods for the recognition of odorants and tastants. Olfactory and taste cell and receptor-based biosensors are obtained by culturing olfactory and taste living cells on the surface of microelectronic chips.