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J Breath Res

Title:		Real-time breath analysis with active capillary plasma ionization-ambient mass spectrometry
Author(s):		Bregy L; Sinues PM; Nudnova MM; Zenobi R;
Address:		"Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland"
Journal Title:		J Breath Res
Year:		2014
Volume:		20140328
Issue:		2
Page Number:		27102 -
DOI:		10.1088/1752-7155/8/2/027102
ISSN/ISBN:		1752-7163 (Electronic) 1752-7155 (Linking)
Abstract:		"On-line analysis of exhaled human breath is a growing area in analytical science, for applications such as fast and non-invasive medical diagnosis and monitoring. In this work, we present a novel approach based on ambient ionization of compounds in breath and subsequent real-time mass spectrometric analysis. We introduce a plasma ionization source for this purpose, which has no need for additional gases, is very small, and is easily interfaced with virtually any commercial atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer (API-MS) without major modifications. If an API-MS instrument exists in a laboratory, the cost to implement this technology is only around [Formula: see text]500, far less than the investment for a specialized mass spectrometric system designed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analysis. In this proof-of-principle study we were able to measure mass spectra of exhaled human breath and found these to be comparable to spectra obtained with other electrospray-based methods. We detected over 100 VOCs, including relevant metabolites like fatty acids, with molecular weights extending up to 340 Da. In addition, we were able to monitor the time-dependent evolution of the peaks and show the enhancement of the metabolism after a meal. We conclude that this approach may complement current methods to analyze breath or other types of vapors, offering an affordable option to upgrade any pre-existing API-MS to a real-time breath analyzer"
Keywords:		Breath Tests/*instrumentation/*methods *Computer Systems *Exhalation Female Gases/analysis/chemistry Humans Male Mass Spectrometry/*instrumentation/*methods Plasma Gases/*chemistry Principal Component Analysis Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis/chemistry;
Notes:		"MedlineBregy, Lukas Sinues, Pablo Martinez-Lozano Nudnova, Maryia M Zenobi, Renato eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2014/04/01 J Breath Res. 2014 Jun; 8(2):027102. doi: 10.1088/1752-7155/8/2/027102. Epub 2014 Mar 28"