Bionic helical sensor array inspired by mammal olfactory recess

The performance of sensor arrays in electronic noses (E-noses) is influenced by their spatial distribution. Inspired by the mammalian olfactory recess, this paper presents a flexible sensor array with a bionic helical structure. By integrating Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials and thermal modulation, the array's sensor units exhibit differentiated odor selectivity. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations show that the bionic structure mimics the rectification effect of the olfactory recess, ensuring more uniform odor concentration distribution. For 14 odorants, the helical array outperformed the planar design across all key metrics (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC, and F1 score) with a peak classification accuracy of 85.8 ± 4.7 % versus 79.7 ± 6.5 %. This bio-inspired approach offers potential for enhancing electronic nose performance and achieving high-precision odor recognition.