Ion mobility spectrometry for pharmacokinetic studies--exemplary application.

Breath analysis is an attractive non-invasive method for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. It uses endogenously produced compounds and metabolites of isotopically labeled precursors. In order to make such tests clinically useful, it is important to have relatively small portable instruments detecting volatile compounds within short time.

Near real-time VOCs analysis using an aspiration ion mobility spectrometer.

The ChemPro 100i chemical detector (aspiration-type ion mobility spectrometer) was used for the detection of selected volatile organic compounds known to be potential indicators of human presence. The targeted group of compounds mainly comprised ketones (acetone, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, 3-methyl-2-butanone, 4-heptanone), aldehydes (propanal, pentanal, hexanal, octanal), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), isoprene and ethanol. Gaseous standards of these compounds were produced from pure substances and analysed using the aspiration ion mobility spectrometry (AIMS) chemical detector.

Characterization of volatile metabolites taken up by or released from Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae by using GC-MS.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from or taken up by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae cultures were analysed by means of GC-MS after adsorption of headspace samples on multi-bed sorption tubes. Sampling was performed at different time points during cultivation of bacteria to follow the dynamics of VOC metabolism. VOCs were identified not only by spectral library match but also based on retention times of native standards.

Dependence of exhaled breath composition on exogenous factors, smoking habits and exposure to air pollutants.

Non-invasive disease monitoring on the basis of volatile breath markers is a very attractive but challenging task. Several hundreds of compounds have been detected in exhaled air using modern analytical techniques (e.g.

Molecular analysis of volatile metabolites released specifically by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background: The routinely used microbiological diagnosis of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is time consuming and often requires invasive methods for collection of human specimens (e.g. bronchoscopy).

Optimization of sampling parameters for collection and preconcentration of alveolar air by needle traps.

The approach for breath-VOCs' collection and preconcentration by applying needle traps was developed and optimized. The alveolar air was collected from only a few exhalations under visual control of expired CO(2) into a large gas-tight glass syringe and then warmed up to 45 °C for a short time to avoid condensation. Subsequently, a specially constructed sampling device equipped with Bronkhorst® electronic flow controllers was used for automated adsorption.

Temporal profiling of human urine VOCs and its potential role under the ruins of collapsed buildings.

Context: The scent profile of human urine was investigated as potential source of chemical markers of human presence in collapsed buildings after natural or man-made disasters.

Objective: The main goals of this study were to build a library of potential biomarkers of human urine to be used for the detection of entrapped victims and to further examine their evolution profile in time.

Materials And Methods: Headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was used to detect and identify the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) spontaneously released from urine of 20 healthy volunteers.

Lung cancer biomarkers in exhaled breath.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Methods for early detection of lung cancer, such as computerized tomography scanning technology, often discover a large number of small lung nodules, posing a new problem to radiologists and chest physicians. The vast majority of these nodules will be benign, but there is currently no easy way to determine which nodules represent very early lung cancer.