3977294

Evaluating baseline levels of exhaled volatile organic compound biomarkers in healthy breath via solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography mass-spectrometry

Date
March 20, 2024
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by metabolic pathways have the potential to serve as possible biomarkers for noninvasive diagnostic applications. However, an unanswered question is what should be considered healthy levels of these compounds in exhaled breath? To tackle this, a rapid, standardized, and direct breath sampling method was designed. In this method, volunteers exhale through a viral filter onto a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber, which allows for VOC analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This approach, termed Direct Breath-Solid Phase Microextraction (DB-SPME), is interfaced with a clinical capnograph to quantify breath volumes and carbon dioxide profiles. Optimizing DB-SPME included exploring SPME type/chemical composition, breath fractionation, and exhalation volumes. Once optimized, breath samples were collected from 164 healthy volunteers. Tandem to breath sampling, blood samples were taken to perform comprehensive metabolic panels (CMPs) and complete blood counts (CBCs), to assess general health indicators and explore possible correlations with VOC levels in breath. The results demonstrated that DB-SPME was able to sample an array of VOCs with a diverse range of functional groups. Hierarchical clustering of the data showed that cyclic monoterpenes clustered with each other, indicating there may be a relationship between structure and expression. VOC correlations with various confounding variables such as age, biological sex, body mass index, CMP/CBC results, and other factors were assessed. Regarding this analysis, isoprene was significantly upregulated in males when compared to females, and this corresponds to previous literature. The findings from this study can be leveraged in future investigations to identify VOC biomarkers for medical conditions and translate breath analysis from the laboratory to point-of-care application.

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