Modular Breath Analyzer (MBA): Introduction of a Breath Analyzer Platform Based on an Innovative and Unique,Modular eNose Concept for Breath Diagnostics and Utilization of Calibration Transfer Methods in Breath Analysis Studies

Exhaled breath analysis for early disease detection may provide a convenient method for painless and non-invasive diagnosis. In this work, a novel, compact and easy-to-use breath analyzer platform with a modular sensing chamber and direct breath sampling unit is presented. The developed analyzer system comprises a compact, low volume, temperature-controlled sensing chamber in three modules that can host any type of resistive gas sensor arrays. Furthermore, in this study three modular breath analyzers are explicitly tested for reproducibility in a real-life breath analysis experiment with several calibration transfer (CT) techniques using transfer samples from the experiment. The experiment consists of classifying breath samples from 15 subjects before and after eating a specific meal using three instruments. We investigate the possibility to transfer calibration models across instruments using transfer samples from the experiment under study, since representative samples of human breath at some conditions are difficult to simulate in a laboratory. For example, exhaled breath from subjects suffering from a disease for which the biomarkers are mostly unknown. Results show that many transfer samples of all the classes under study (in our case meal/no meal) are needed, although some CT methods present reasonably good results with only one class.     

Comparison of Targeted and Untargeted Approaches in Breath Analysis for the Discrimination of Lung Cancer from Benign Pulmonary Diseases and Healthy Persons

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficiency of targeted and untargeted breath analysis in the discrimination of lung cancer (Ca+) patients from healthy people (HC) and patients with benign pulmonary diseases (Ca−). Exhaled breath samples from 49 Ca+ patients, 36 Ca− patients and 52 healthy controls (HC) were analyzed by an SPME–GC–MS method. Untargeted treatment of the acquired data was performed with the use of the web-based platform XCMS Online combined with manual reprocessing of raw chromatographic data. Machine learning methods were applied to estimate the efficiency of breath analysis in the classification of the participants. Results: Untargeted analysis revealed 29 informative VOCs, from which 17 were identified by mass spectra and retention time/retention index evaluation. The untargeted analysis yielded slightly better results in discriminating Ca+ patients from HC (accuracy: 91.0%, AUC: 0.96 and accuracy 89.1%, AUC: 0.97 for untargeted and targeted analysis, respectively) but significantly improved the efficiency of discrimination between Ca+ and Ca− patients, increasing the accuracy of the classification from 52.9 to 75.3% and the AUC from 0.55 to 0.82. Conclusions: The untargeted breath analysis through the inclusion and utilization of newly identified compounds that were not considered in targeted analysis allowed the discrimination of the Ca+ from Ca− patients, which was not achieved by the targeted approach.     

一种新的有机污染物采样装置

介绍了一种由类脂物和半透膜组成的采样装置,该装置可模拟生物监测可被生物订的有机污染物。将其用于监测大气、水体、沉积物中的多氯联苯（ＰＣＢｓ）、有机氯农药（ＯＣＰ）和多环芳烃（ＰＡＨｓ）时,结果满意。     

Approaches to Sampling and Sample Pretreatments for Metal Speciation in Soils and Sediments

Abstract

The main aspects of sampling and sample pretreatment in metal speciation studies of soils and sediments are discussed. The risks of sample contamination by the use of inappropriate materials, containers and tools as well as the possibilities of losses of analyte during sample handling are pointed out. Field sampling methods are described and minimum sample weight criteria for representative sampling of dry soils are presented. Sampling by traps and continuous flow centrifugation methods for suspended sediments and of bottom sediments by grabs or corers are compared. To avoid significant changes in some metal species drying and storage temperatures may need to be controlled and preservation in an inert atmosphere or by irradiation is discussed. The difficulties of establishing definitive protocols for sampling and sample pretreatment are emphasized as well as the need for selecting the appropriate technique in each particular case.     

Pilot Study on Exhaled Breath Analysis for a Healthy Adult Population in Hawaii

Fast diagnostic results using breath analysis are an anticipated possibility for disease diagnosis or general health screenings. Tests that do not require sending specimens to medical laboratories possess capabilities to speed patient diagnosis and protect both patient and healthcare staff from unnecessary prolonged exposure. The objective of this work was to develop testing procedures on an initial healthy subject cohort in Hawaii to act as a range-finding pilot study for characterizing the baseline of exhaled breath prior to further research. Using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), this study analyzed exhaled breath from a healthy adult population in Hawaii to profile the range of different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and survey Hawaii-specific differences. The most consistently reported compounds in the breath profile of individuals were acetic acid, dimethoxymethane, benzoic acid methyl ester, and n-hexane. In comparison to other breathprinting studies, the list of compounds discovered was representative of control cohorts. This must be considered when implementing proposed breath diagnostics in new locations with increased interpersonal variation due to diversity. Further studies on larger numbers of subjects over longer periods of time will provide additional foundational data on baseline breath VOC profiles of control populations for comparison to disease-positive cohorts.     

A Comparison of Two Sampling Devices for the Recovery of Organics from Aqueous Surface Films

Abstract

Teflon disc and wire screen type surface film samplers were compared as to their consistency and efficiency of retrieval of hydrocarbons, aromatics, and free fatty acids. Both laboratory and field experiments were conducted. The results obtained suggest that each device exhibits selectivity in its respective ability to recover organic compounds at the air-water interface.     

人体呼出气分析的技术进展及其在非侵入式医学诊断方面的临床应用前景

人体呼出气被视为血液顶空气体,通过肺泡交换排出体外,可在一定程度上反映人体的内源代谢情况。近些年,随着医学诊断无损化的不断发展,呼出气分析由于其无创性,无痛性,便捷性,具有临床疾病早期诊断与大规模筛查的潜力,受到越来越多的关注。研究表明,呼出气中包含的挥发性有机化合物和人体的疾病代谢状态密切相关,如丙酮与糖尿病,醛类物质与乳腺癌,烷烃类与氧化应激水平等。现代分析方法(如气相色谱、质谱、光谱、传感器等)对呼出气中上千种痕量组分的定性定量分析,使得呼出气分析成为可能。此文总结了呼出气分析的技术发展:样品采集手段,预富集技术和定性定量分析技术。评价了呼出气生物标识物在糖尿病,乳腺癌,以及肺癌等疾病中的临床诊断前景。最后讨论了呼出气分析的技术在国内的发展现状及其面临的主要问题。     

Siloxanes in Biogas: Approaches of Sampling Procedure and GC-MS Method Determination

A new approach of siloxane sampling based on impinger, micro-impinger, adsorption on active carbon, and direct TedlarBag methods followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed for the analysis of three linear (L2–L4) and four cyclic (D3–D5) volatile methyl siloxanes (VMSs). Three kinds of organic liquid-medium characterized by different polarities, namely acetone, methanol, and d-decane as siloxanes trap were arranged in the experiment which is widely discussed below. Thus, the GC-MS equipped with SUPELCOWAX-10 capillary column was employed to perform monitoring of VMS content in the analyzed biogas samples originating from landfill, wastewater treatment plants, and agriculture biogas plants. In all samples that have undergone the analysis, cyclic and linear VMSs were found in quantities exceeding 107.9 and 3.8 mg/m³, respectively. Significant differences between siloxanes concentrations depending on biogas origin were observed. Moreover, the high range of linearity (0.1 to 70.06 mg/m³), low LoD (0.01 mg/m³), low LoQ (0.04 mg/m³), and high recovery (244.1%) indicate that the procedure and can be applied in sensitive analyses of silica biogas contaminants. In addition to the above, the impinger method of sampling performed better than active-carbon Tube and TedlarBag, particularly for quantifying low concentrations of siloxanes. Overall, the evaluation of sampling methods for biogas collection simplified the analytical procedure by reducing the procedural steps, avoiding the use of solvents, as well as demonstrated its applicability for the testing of biogas quality.     

Drug Pharmacokinetics Determined by Real‐Time Analysis of Mouse Breath

Noninvasive, real‐time pharmacokinetic (PK) monitoring of ketamine, propofol, and valproic acid, and their metabolites was achieved in mice, using secondary electrospray ionization and high‐resolution mass spectrometry. The PK profile of a drug influences its efficacy and toxicity because it determines exposure time and levels. The antidepressant and anaesthetic ketamine (Ket) and four Ket metabolites were studied in detail and their PK was simultaneously determined following application of different sub‐anaesthetic doses of Ket. Bioavailability after oral administration vs. intraperitoneal injection was also investigated. In contrast to conventional studies that require many animals to be sacrificed even for low‐resolution PK curves, this novel approach yields real‐time PK curves with a hitherto unmatched time resolution (10 s), and none of the animals has to be sacrificed. This thus represents a major step forward not only in animal welfare, but also major cost and time savings.     

稳键方差法探讨土壤取样

用稳键方差法探讨了土壤的一些分析数据的处理，稳键方差分析的优点在于可以降低异常值在统计评价中的影响，易于辨认异常值。本文自理了ｐＨ，有机质，阳离子交换量，交换性Ｍｎ，易还原态Ｍｎ等土壤分析数据，结果显示分析精度足够高而取样精度不够。     

慢性乙型肝炎患者呼出气体的电喷雾萃取电离质谱分析

应用电喷雾萃取电离质谱法对慢性乙型肝炎患者(41例)及正常人(34例)的呼出气体样本进行检测,迅速获得其一级质谱指纹谱图,采用化学计量学方法主成分分析(PCA)和聚类分析(CA)对所获得的一级质谱数据进行处理后,可有效区分患者与正常人群,且不同临床类型慢性乙肝聚类分析图谱有不同表现,此结果有助于慢性乙型肝炎的临床诊断和病情分析.另外,本方法也为发展简单、快速、非侵入性慢性乙型肝炎临床诊断方法提供解决思路.     

多批次肝衰竭患者呼出气体的电喷雾萃取电离质谱检测及代谢组学数据分析

采用高分辨电喷雾萃取电离质谱(EESI-MS)技术对肝衰竭患者和健康志愿者呼出气体样本进行快速检测, 结合多块偏最小二乘分析(MB-PLS)方法, 对多批次获取的呼出气体代谢数据进行统计建模分析, 并与传统的PLS方法进行比较. 结果表明, MB-PLS方法能有效消除批次差异对统计建模的影响. 此外, 利用MB-PLS模型变量VIP值对变量进行筛选, 可降低数据的冗余, 消除无关变量对模型的影响, 从而有效提高了模型的性能.     

临床样品微量元素分析过程中样品制备技术的进展

对临床样品微量元素分析过程中的样品制备技术的最近进展进行了评述,主要从直接稀释、湿法消解、干式灰化及微量元素形态分析的样品预处理技术等几方面进行了分别介绍。     

用于痕量分析的高精度色谱数据采集卡

设计了一由双电压频率转换器（ＶＦＣ）构成高精度色谱数据采集方法，具有原理简单、精度高、噪声小、价格低等特点，可广泛应用于色谱分析中分析信号的采集．     

二元颗粒混合物按质量取样的误差研究

二元颗粒混合物的随机取样方式有两种：一是按颗粒数目取样,二是按质量取样本文对二元颗粒混合物按质量取样的误差进行了深入研究,详细分析了混合物的各种参对被测组分含量取样误差的影响,应用Ｍｏｎｔｅ Ｃａｒｌｏ技术对取样进行了模拟。以颗粒药品的二元混合物为例对按颗粒数目取样和按质量取样的误差进行了比较。此项研究对于分析取样理论和应用具有重要的价值。     

分子表面随机采样分析法用于药物定量构效关系研究

考虑药物配基与蛋白质受体的3类非键作用模式,利用蒙特卡罗随机采样技术得到了一种分子结构性质表达方法:分子表面随机采样分析(RaSMS).同时,定义了蛋白质原子探针、虚拟受体可及表面、表面随机采样目标面积逼近法等多个相关概念,在理论和算法上对该法进行了可行性分析.在此基础上,对31个标准甾体化合物进行了定量构效关系(QS...     

Novel Enzymatic Potentiometric Approaches for Surfactant Analysis

The present study described a novel application of simple potentiometric enzymatic method for analysis of surfactants based on their inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE). The enzymatic activity was measured through monitoring hydrolysis of acetylcholine (ACh) with a disposable acetylcholine potentiometric sensor. Comprehensive investigations were carried out including the effect of incubation time, cholinesterase enzyme and the working calibration ranges. Based on inhibition of AChE, different cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants were determined in the concentration range from 0 to 40 μg mL⁻¹ with detection limits reaching 0.07 μg mL⁻¹ depending on the nature of surfactants. The degree of AChE inhibition caused by different tested surfactants were as follows: cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) > benzyldimethylhexadecyl ammonium chloride (BDHAC) > Hyamine (Hy)>cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) > Triton X‐100 (TX‐100) > sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). The proposed method was applied for determination of surfactants in pharmaceutical formulation, detergents products and environmental samples with acceptable sensitivity and reproducibility.     

Sampling conformational hyperspace: Techniques for improving completeness

Summary Three new strategies for sampling the conformation space accessible to a series of structurally diverse, flexible molecules are defined and compared to samples obtained using a fixed-grid torsion angle sampling strategy. A set of 28 potent inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme selected by Mayer et al. [J. Comput.-Aided Mol. Design, 1 (1987) 3] and the unrestricted active-site model proposed by Waller et al. [to be published] are used to produce a realistic experimental setting. We modified our Constrained Search algorithm [Dammkoehler et al., J. Comput.-Aided Mol. Design, 3 (1989) 3] to support these new sampling strategies, performing a series of 64 simulations (search experiments) and generating a large set of sterically allowed conformations. In each experiment, we systematically vary the internal torsion angles in each molecule using one of the sampling strategies. The common orientations of preselected functional groups thought to represent those dominating the interaction with the enzyme and presented by the set of molecules are classified and recorded for each experiment. Pairwise distances between groups are used to characterize the geometry of the common orientations. The results of each experiment, represented by a set of distance values, are compared and combined to evaluate the completeness of the conformational sampling. While no pure strategy or single search experiment was found to be adequate to fully explore the set of common sterically allowed conformations, a new sampling technique, called adaptive radial sampling, is shown to be significantly more complete than the commonly used fixed grid sampling.     

铜,铅精矿中金,银分析取制样方法研究

本文围绕铜、铅精矿中金、银分析取样代表性及制样均匀性等问题，和对铜、铅精矿中金、银品质波动及制样加工粒度对金、银分析的影响进行了系统的研究。划分了金、银品质波动区间，选择了最佳制样加工料度。本研究结果应用于ＹＳ／Ｔ９６－９６《散装浮选铜、铅精矿中金银分析取制样方法》行业标准中。     

废弃线路板化学分析采样、制样及检测方法

介绍废弃线路板中有回收价值元素和有害物质分析的采样、制样及检测技术。样品经过分类采样、剪切破碎和高温灰化制样,采用样品全分析或副批混合样分析。通过提高称样量、多次测定求平均值的办法,火试金富集-重量法测定贵金属金、银。湿法王水溶解样品,碘量法测定主体元素铜。电感耦合等离子体发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定其它杂质元素,被测元素质量浓度在0~10μg/mL范围内与光谱强度呈良好线性关系,相关系数均大于0.9998。测定结果的相对标准偏差小于10%(n=5),加标回收率为97.0%~102.5%。该方法简单、快速,有效地解决了线路板样品不均匀而难采样,以及硬度、韧性强制样难,金属易包裹难分解的技术瓶颈,测定结果准确,具有代表性。该方法适用于废弃线路板化学成分分析,其它废弃电子产品检测可参考此方法。