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A new study, published in the Journal of Breath
Research, analysed exhaled breath for the volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) given off by different
species and strains of bacteria.
The identification of bacteria by their volatilomes
is of interest to many scientists and clinicians as
it holds the promise of diagnosing infections in
situ, particularly lung infections via breath
analysis. While there are many studies reporting
various bacterial volatile biomarkers or
fingerprints using in vitro experiments, it has
proven difficult to translate these data to in vivo
breath analyses.
The research team infected mice with Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, and then
sampled their breath after 24 hours.
The compounds in their breath were analysed using
secondary electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.
There was a statistically significant difference
between the breath profiles of the mice infected
with the bacteria and the mice that were uninfected,
P. aeruginosa-infected versus S. aureus-infected
mice, as well as distinguish between infections
caused by P. aeruginosa strains PAO1 versus FRD1.
The authors believe that breath analysis could lead
to a successful, non-invasive technique to identify
lung infections.
For more information
Detecting bacterial lung infections: in vivo
evaluation of in vitro volatile fingerprints
http://iopscience.iop.org/1752-7163/7/1/016003
(MDN)
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