Discovery of stable and donor-specific breathprints
Recent study reveals unique mass spectrometric signatures of exhaled breath.
Researchers at the University Hospital Zürich (Switzerland) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have discovered in a recent study that stable breathprints specific to individuals do exist. The stability and individuality of the breath signatures may strengthen the use of breath as a biological sample in metabolomics and in the growing field of personalized medicine. The method is also completely non-invasive making it an attractive option.
There were 11 participants who took part in the study over 9 working days; their breath was analyzed during four time slots during each study day. The participant’s breath was collected directly into a Teflon tube that was connected to the curtain gas port of a quadrupole TOF-MS and was conducted in triplicate. Samples were analyzed via secondary electrospray ionization producing unique, highly specific mass spectrometric signatures of the breath that could be matched to the donor.
It is suggested that the metabolome varies between individuals due to diet, health or chemical exposure; however, in this study, the exogenous compounds in breath could not be positively identified. Future work for the team is stated to be the use of a higher resolving power instrument to elucidate structural information of exhaled compounds and determine to what extent exogenous compounds contribute to the individual signatures discovered in this study.
The scientists observed that the signatures fluctuated throughout the day – it is known that the metabolome does fluctuate due to biological clocks – despite this the signatures could still be linked to the individuals. The study concluded that breath analysis may contribute alongside other techniques towards a future of personalized healthcare.
Source: Martinez-Lozano Sinues P, Kohler M, Zenobi R. Human Breath Analysis May Support the Existence of Individual Metabolic Phenotypes. PLoS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059909 (2013) (Epub ahead of print).
