Evaluation of Background Odor Influence on Mold Odor Detection Using Multiple Insect Olfactory Receptor-Based Sensor Arrays

Insects possess a superior sense of smell, making them valuable for various practical applications. Given their sensitivity to mold-derived odorants in agricultural crops and food products, we aim to utilize them as biosensors to detect mold contamination. In real-world scenarios of mold contamination, the presence of background odorant components, alongside mold-derived odorant components pose a potential challenge. Therefore, our study investigated whether a sensor array using multiple cell-based sensors expressing insect olfactory receptors can effectively discriminate mold-derived components by testing a mixture of samples containing a background odorant. Our experimental findings suggested that, with appropriate selections, mold odorants can be successfully differentiated even amidst the presence of background odorant components.