Face mask insert could help diagnose conditions

Date:
August 12, 2020
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Researchers have demonstrated that a fiber inserted into an
ordinary N95 face mask can collect compounds in exhaled breath
aerosols for analysis.

The new method could allow screening for disease biomarkers on a
large scale.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Given current events, many people are wearing face masks to protect
themselves and others. But that same face mask could someday also
collect useful health information. Researchers reporting in ACS'
Analytical Chemistry have demonstrated that a fiber inserted into an
ordinary N95 face mask can collect compounds in exhaled breath aerosols
for analysis. The new method could allow screening for disease biomarkers
on a large scale.


========================================================================== Exhaled breath is an aerosol that contains a variety of volatile and non- volatile compounds dissolved in microdroplets. Some of these molecules
could provide important health information, such as whether a person
has a certain disease, or how their body metabolizes medications they're taking. Mass spectrometry is a sensitive technique that can help identify
these compounds.

But first, sufficient amounts of the molecules must be collected,
which often requires tedious procedures such as breathing into a tube or
bag. Bin Hu and colleagues wondered if they could find a way to use face
masks, which many people are wearing anyway, to collect and concentrate compounds exhaled in breath for later mass spectrometry analysis.

To test their idea, the researchers clipped a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber inside an N95 face mask. SPME fibers have been used
previously to extract compounds from breath collected by other
methods. Volunteers performed many different activities, including eating
a banana or garlic, smoking a cigarette or drinking a cup of coffee. Then,
the volunteers wore the masks for 2 hours, and the researchers removed
the SPME fibers and analyzed them by mass spectrometry. For each activity,
the researchers detected specific compounds, even some that were present
at trace amounts: for example, volatile sulfur compounds from eating
garlic, nicotine from smoking and caffeine from drinking coffee. The researchers hope that the method will inspire biomarker studies for
respiratory illnesses that require people to wear masks in everyday life.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science
Foundation of China and the Foundation for New Faculty Start-up Program
of Jinan University.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Chemical_Society. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Zi-Cheng Yuan, Wen Li, Lin Wu, Dou Huang, Manman Wu, Bin
Hu. Solid-Phase
Microextraction Fiber in Face Mask for In Vivo Sampling and Direct
Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Exhaled Breath Aerosol. Analytical
Chemistry, 2020; DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02118 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812144014.htm

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