Publications by authors named "Pawel Mochalski"

Preservation of the breath sample integrity during storage and transport is one of the biggest challenges in off-line exhaled breath gas analysis. In this context, adsorbent tubes are frequently used as storage containers for use with analytical methods employing gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. The key objective of this short communication is to provide data on the recovery of selected breath volatiles from TenaxTA adsorbent tubes that were stored at -80 °C for up to 90 d.

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Volatilomics is a powerful tool capable of providing novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of gastric cancer. The main objective of this study was to characterize the volatilomic signatures of gastric juice in order to identify potential alterations induced by gastric cancer. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection, coupled with headspace solid phase microextraction as the pre-concentration technique, was used to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by gastric juice samples collected from 78 gastric cancer patients and two cohorts of controls (80 and 96 subjects) from four different locations (Latvia, Ukraine, Brazil, and Colombia).

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Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the most extensively studied risk factor for gastric cancer. As with any bacteria, H.

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The human body emits a multitude of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via tissues and various bodily fluids or exhaled breath. These compounds collectively create a distinctive chemical profile, which can potentially be employed to identify changes in human metabolism associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and, consequently, facilitate the diagnosis of this disease. The main goal of this study was to investigate and characterize the VOCs' chemical patterns associated with the breath of CRC patients and controls and identify potential expiratory markers of this disease.

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The study presents an innovative approach to the analysis of waste silicon photovoltaic panels prior and after thermal treatment. Using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), the elemental composition of multilayered panel backsheets was determined, identifying a TiO-containing coating laminate, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) layer, and an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant, while also estimating their thickness. Identifying the fluorine-containing layers allowed their selective removal and safe processing of the used panels.

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Article Synopsis
  • The human body releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can reveal metabolic changes linked to colorectal cancer (CRC), potentially aiding in its diagnosis.
  • This study used advanced techniques to analyze VOCs from CRC tissue, identifying 163 compounds where both cancerous and non-cancerous tissues shared 138 common VOCs.
  • Certain compounds were found to be released more or less from cancer tissues compared to normal tissues, highlighting the unique VOC signatures that could serve as biomarkers for CRC and support the creation of better detection technologies.
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It has been shown that the gut microbiota plays a central role in human health and disease. A wide range of volatile metabolites present in exhaled breath have been linked with gut microbiota and proposed as a non-invasive marker for monitoring pathological conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the possible correlation between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath and the fecal microbiome by multivariate statistical analysis in gastric cancer patients ( = 16) and healthy controls ( = 33).

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Background: Volatilomics is a powerful tool capable of providing novel biomarkers for medical diagnosis and therapy monitoring. The objective of this study is to identify potential volatile biomarkers of gastric cancer.

Methods: The volatilomic signatures of gastric tissues obtained from two distinct populations were investigated using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection.

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The continuous search for new sensing materials with high recognition capabilities is necessary to improve existing analytical procedures and to develop new ones. Natural glassy carbon and polydimethylsiloxane were shown to be used for the preparation of carbon paste electrodes to employ them in new, voltammetric, green-chemistry-friendly electroanalytical procedures aimed at evaluating the antioxidant capacity of plant extracts, dietary supplements, and hydrolats. The developed electrodes provided well-shaped and reproducible voltammetric signals (RSD = 1%) of the oxidation of epigallocatechin gallate, the main component of many plants and plant-based formulations with antioxidative activity, in the 1-12.

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In vitro studies can help reveal the biochemical pathways underlying the origin of volatile indicators of numerous diseases. The key objective of this study is to identify the potential biomarkers of gastric cancer. For this purpose, the volatilomic signatures of two human gastric cancer cell lines, AGS (human gastric adenocarcinoma) and SNU-1 (human gastric carcinoma), and one normal gastric mucosa cell line (GES-1) were investigated.

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Researchers looking for biomarkers from different sources, such as breath, urine, or blood, frequently search for specific patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often using pattern recognition or machine learning techniques. However, they are not generally aware that these patterns change depending on the source they use. Therefore, we have created a simple model to demonstrate that the distribution patterns of VOCs in fat, mixed venous blood, alveolar air, and end-tidal breath are different.

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Background: Detection of disease by means of volatile organic compounds from breath samples using sensors is an attractive approach to fast, noninvasive and inexpensive diagnostics. However, these techniques are still limited to applications within the laboratory settings. Here, we report on the development and use of a fast, portable, and IoT-connected point-of-care device (so-called, SniffPhone) to detect and classify gastric cancer to potentially provide new qualitative solutions for cancer screening.

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The presence of certain volatile biomarkers in the breath of patients with gastric cancer has been reported by several studies; however, the origin of these compounds remains controversial. studies, involving gastric cancer cells may address this problem and aid in revealing the biochemical pathways underlying the production and metabolism of gastric cancer volatile indicators. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection, coupled with headspace needle trap extraction as the pre-concentration technique, has been applied to map the volatilomic footprints of human HGC-27 and CLS-145 gastric cancer cell lines and normal Human Stomach Epithelial Cells (HSEC).

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Clinical guidelines recommend particular approaches, including 'screen-and-treat' strategy for Helicobacter pylori, to prevent gastric cancer. However, little of this is implemented in clinical practice. The aim of the study was to identify barriers to implementation of international guidelines.

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Real-time measurements of the differences in inhaled and exhaled, unlabeled and fully deuterated acetone concentration levels, at rest and during exercise, have been conducted using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. A novel approach to continuously differentiate between the inhaled and exhaled breath acetone concentration signals is used. This leads to unprecedented fine grained data of inhaled and exhaled concentrations.

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Post-operative isoflurane has been observed to be present in the end-tidal breath of patients who have undergone major surgery, for several weeks after the surgical procedures. A major new non-controlled, non-randomized, and open-label approved study will recruit patients undergoing various surgeries under different inhalation anaesthetics, with two key objectives, namely (1) to record the washout characteristics following surgery, and (2) to investigate the influence of a patient's health and the duration and type of surgery on elimination. In preparation for this breath study using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS), it is important to identify first the analytical product ions that need to be monitored and under what operating conditions.

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Soft chemical ionization mass spectrometric techniques, such as proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), are often used in breath analysis, being particularly powerful for real-time measurements. To ascertain the type and concentration of volatiles in exhaled breath clearly assignable product ions resulting from these volatiles need to be determined. This is difficult for compounds where isomers are common, and one important class of breath volatiles where this occurs are ketones.

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With the growing interest in the use of breath volatiles in the health sciences, the lack of standardization for the sampling and analysis of exhaled breath is becoming a major issue leading to an absence of conformity, reproducibility and reliability in spectrometric measurements. Through the creation of a worldwide 'peppermint consortium', the International Association of Breath Research has set up a task force to deal with this problem. Pharmacokinetic studies are proposed, and a real-time analytical technique that is being used is proton transfer reaction-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS).

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Breath analysis holds great promise for real-time and non-invasive medical diagnosis. Thus, there is a considerable need for simple-in-use and portable analyzers for rapid detection of breath indicators for different diseases in their early stages. Sensor technology meets all of these demands.

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Breath analysis offers a non-invasive and rapid diagnostic method for detecting various volatile organic compounds that could be indicators for different diseases, particularly metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes mellitus. The development of type 2 diabetes mellitus is closely linked to metabolic dysfunction of adipose tissue and adipocytes. However, the VOC profile of human adipocytes has not yet been investigated.

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The presence of certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath of patients with gastric cancer has been reported by a number of research groups; however, the source of these compounds remains controversial. Comparison of VOCs emitted from gastric cancer tissue to those emitted from non-cancerous tissue would help in understanding which of the VOCs are associated with gastric cancer and provide a deeper knowledge on their generation. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) coupled with head-space needle trap extraction (HS-NTE) as the pre-concentration technique, was used to identify and quantify VOCs released by gastric cancer and non-cancerous tissue samples collected from 41 patients during surgery.

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Earthquakes are lethal natural disasters frequently burying people alive under collapsed buildings. Tracking entrapped humans from their unique volatile chemical signature with hand-held devices would accelerate urban search and rescue (USaR) efforts. Here, a pilot study is presented with compact and orthogonal sensor arrays to detect the breath- and skin-emitted metabolic tracers acetone, ammonia, isoprene, CO, and relative humidity (RH), all together serving as sign of life.

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In a recent paper (Unterkofler et al 2015 J. Breath Res. 9 036002) we presented a simple two compartment model which describes the influence of inhaled concentrations on exhaled breath concentrations for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with small Henry constants.

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Human smuggling and associated cross-border crimes have evolved as a major challenge for the European Union in recent years. Of particular concern is the increasing trend of smuggling migrants hidden inside shipping containers or trucks. Therefore, there is a growing demand for portable security devices for the non-intrusive and rapid monitoring of containers to detect people hiding inside.

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There is a growing demand for rapid analytical systems to detect the presence of humans who are either entrapped as a result of a disaster or, in particular, hidden, as in the case of smuggling or trafficking. The trafficking and smuggling of people to Europe have reached epidemic proportions in recent years. This does not only put a major strain on European resources, but puts at risk the health and lives of the people being trafficked or smuggled.

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