Validation of a new method for exhaled breath profiling in noisy breathing infants

Abstract

Breathomics could be used as a new, objective and reliable tool to differentiate between multiple noisy breathing phenotypes. This could lead to earlier disease control and less mistreatment. Selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), a relatively new form of breathomics, can identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath and has great potential in biomarker research. The SIFT-MS was validated and compared to the current golden standard of gas analysis and breathomics, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), using a peppermint washout experiment. After ingestion of a peppermint oil capsule, the washout of three peppermint compounds in exhaled breath was studied over time. Five individuals participated in this study. Validation parameters for the SIFT-MS were calculated prior to the actual benchmark study. Not all validation parameters were within range. The limit of detection was 9.92, 7.23, and 10.39ppb for eucalyptol, gamma-terpinene, and menthofuran, respectively. The measurement uncertainty for these VOCs was 33.12%, 69.62%, and 6.95%, respectively. These peppermint compounds were calculated during the benchmark study and did not show the typical decline of concentration over time. GC-MS could only detect eucalyptol but showed a better decline. The GC-MS showed better results than the SIFT-MS for eucalyptol, questioning the accuracy of this alternative breathomics technique. There is a need for further optimization and testing before the SIFT-MS can be implemented into the medical world.