By Jens Herbig and Lukas Märk
Advantages of breath gas analysis with IONICON PTR-TOFMS
Breath gas analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has progressed in recent years. Researchers are trying to detect volatile biomarkers in exhaled breath that are indicative for a disease or for the response to pharmacological treatments. Several hundred volatile compounds have so far been identified in exhaled breath and their range of concentrations, typically in the parts-per-billion range, are a challenge to most modern analyzers.IONICON PTR-TOF systems are particularly well suited for breath gas analysis: their detection limits are in the ppt range (1 ppt = 0.001 ppb) and the high mass resolving power allows to separate isobaric compounds. Moreover, in addition to offline analysis where breath is collected in a container and then analyzed,the high sensitivity and fast response time of these systems allows to analyze breath directly and in real-time. This provides immediate results and avoids complications often arising from sample collection and storage. With IONICON PTR-TOF analyzers, several hundred compounds can be measured simultaneously from a single exhalation.A critical add-on is our specialized breath sampling inlet (BET) which employs clinically certified, disposable, non-rebreathing mouthpieces to minimize the risk of contagion between patients.
Applied COVID-19 breath VOC pattern research and medication
Looking at the pathophysiology of COVID-19, there are several indicators that a SARS-CoV-2 infection is detectable in the breath VOC pattern. The disease has been reported to cause a multitude of symptoms and can affect several organs. This supports the assumption that the metabolism is affected in more than one way and that the volatile metabolite distribution is altered.
The rapid detection of COVID-19-specific breath VOCs would be a great step forward for diagnostic purposes and a spectrum of VOCs could be used for monitoring disease progression or response to conventional or investigational drugs. Moreover, since therapies for COVID-19 are experimental at this stage, directly monitoring the effect of a therapeutic drug speeds up the development of an efficient treatment for COVID-19.
Thanks to breath researchers like Dr Stanislas Grassin Delyle from the Hôpital Foch in Suresnes, France and University Paris-Saclay (UVSQ ), our PTR-TOF solutions are currently deployed directly at the forefront of international scientific efforts.
“We use an IONICON PTR-TOF system to monitor breath VOCs in ventilated patients with COVID-19. The direct and fast measurement of so many breath VOCs at the same time allows us to study the progression of the disease and the response to therapeutic strategies.” reports Dr Grassin Delyle. We wish him and all other customers who try gaining insights in SARS-CoV-2 all the best!
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