Autor: |
Abu Bakar NH; Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Rd., Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan., Chiu HY; Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, 25 Jingguo Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.; Department of Dermatology, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, 25 Jingguo Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.; Department of Dermatology, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7 Chung Shan S. Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan.; Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 1 Jen Ai Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan., Urban PL; Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Rd., Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan.; Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Rd., Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan. |
Abstrakt: |
Human skin emits a unique set of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs can be probed in order to obtain physiological information about the individuals. However, extracting the VOCs that emanate from human skin for analysis is troublesome and time-consuming. Therefore, we have developed "Mass Specthoscope"─a convenient tool for rapid sampling and detecting VOCs emitted by human skin. The hand-held probe with a pressurized tip and wireless button enables sampling VOCs from surfaces and their transfer to the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source of quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The system was characterized using chemical standards (acetone, benzaldehyde, sulcatone, α-pinene, and decanal). The limits of detection are in the range from 2.25 × 10 -5 to 3.79 × 10 -5 mol m -2 . The system was initially tested by detecting VOCs emanating from porcine skin spiked with VOCs as well as unspiked fresh and spoiled ham. In the main test, the skin of nine healthy participants was probed with the Mass Specthoscope. The sampling regions included the armpit, forearm, and forehead. Numerous skin-related VOC signals were detected. In the final test, one participant ingested a fenugreek drink, and the participant's skin surface was probed using the Mass Specthoscope hourly during the 8 h period. The result revealed a gradual release of fenugreek-related VOCs from the skin. We believe that this analytical approach has the potential to be used in metabolomic studies and following further identification of disease biomarkers─also in noninvasive diagnostics. |