“Smoke Detector” of Human Diseases for Environmental Aerosol Exposure
Authors: Yao Maosheng 
Published: March 2022

Comprehensive Summary

Air consists of various different pollutants (both biological and non‐biological). COVID‐19 pandemic further threatens the air safety. Aerosol exposure causes many diseases including asthma, respiratory infections and death. Using protein biomarker for early diagnosis often fails due to its lower level at the very beginning of a disease. On another front, different technologies were attempted for realtime monitoring of air toxicity. Nonetheless, many aerosol exposures occur silently without any knowledge due to limitation of available analytical methods. Exhaled breath has emerged as a promising non‐invasive sample for disease diagnosis, including cancer and diabetes. Most recently, it was shown that rats emitted distinctive profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within minutes when exposed to different air pollutants including ozone and endotoxin. During the pandemic times, breath‐borne VOC was also used to rapidly screen COVID‐19. Pollutant exposure could result in changes in metabolism, thus releasing different patterns of VOCs via breath within very short time. Close monitoring of exhaled biomarker profile could spot the early signs of a disease, thus offering an earlier warning. Sensor array and machine learning together can lend a great hand toward such an objective. This mini review is undertaken to share such endeavors and inspire further innovations.

What is the most favorite and original chemistry developed in your research group?

Realtime aerosol detection and toxicity analysis, as well as breath biology, including its application in rapid COVID‐19 screening.

How do you get into this specific field? Could you please share some experiences with our readers?

Motivation and problem driven curiosity are key elements for performing impactful and milestone work. Additionally, being ambitious in leading plays another critical role in scientific exploration, excellence and influence. These research directions are the results of the ambition for solving important problems facing mankind and society. Of course, perseverance is another key driver toward pioneering discovery and effort.

How do you supervise your students?

Students are the key part for research discoveries. Thus, communication and discussion are very important both in education and performing influential work. It is critically important to find a rewarding and innovative project to motivate them to move forward with a plan. Good project can not only produce high impact data, but also help students develop essential problem solving skills and thinking. In return, this will cycle back to performing the impactful work. Eventually, students benefit greatly from the process and become very capable and confident.

What is the most important personality for scientific research?

Scientific devotion and ambition in tackling key problems facing mankind.

What are your hobbies? What's your favorite book(s)?

My hobbies include listening to music, reading English books & news, thinking, occasionally watching movies made from Kungfu novels and most recently enjoy running.

Who influences you mostly in your life?

During childhood, my grandma influenced me most. Now, it seems challenges we are facing take my most time.

How do you keep balance between research and family?

It takes some compromise to find a balance between work and family. They are equally important. During different age periods, you will feel a different need to balance between them. Nonetheless, communication and understanding play an important role in solving balance problem. Another useful tip is to improve work efficiency and to avoid unnecessary things, thus saving more time for family and impactful work. In addition, having a well‐planned to‐do‐list is useful to the balance too.

Could you please give us some advices on improving Chinese Journal of Chemistry?

It helps by rotating 20% of the editorial board, i.e., every three years, speeding up the review process, placing the novelty on the first priority, and conducting double blind review. Top high quality paper should be a must principle regardless of the manuscript origin. In addition, increasing the publicity of journal, e.g., using social media not just domestic, but also those overseas, also makes a difference.