Breath biomarkers of total body irradiation in non-human primates

Abstract

Background: Radiation exposure causes oxidative stress, eliciting production of metabolites that are exhaled in the breath as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We evaluated breath VOCs as potential biomarkers for use in radiation biodosimetry. Methods: Five anesthetized non-human primates receive total body irradiation (TBI) of three daily fractions of 120 cGy per day for three days, resulting in a cumulative dose of 10.8 Gy. Breath samples were collected prior to irradiation and after each radiation fraction, and analyzed with gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Results: TBI elicited a prompt and statistically significant increase in the abundance of several hundred VOCs in the breath, including some that were increased more than five-fold, with100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for radiation exposure. The most significant breath VOC biomarkers of radiation mainly comprised straight-chain n-alkanes (e.g. hexane), as well as methylated alkanes (e.g. 3-methyl-pentane) and alkane derivatives (e.g. 2-butyl-1-octanol), consistent with metabolic products of oxidative stress. An unidentified breath VOC biomarker increased more than ten-fold following TBI, and rose linearly with the total cumulative dose of radiation (R2=0.92). Conclusions: TBI of non-human primates elicited increased production of breath VOCs consistent with increased oxidative stress. These findings provide a rational basis for further evaluation of breath VOC biomarkers in human radiation biodosimetry.

Smelling the Disease: Diagnostic Potential of Breath Analysis

“…IMS suffers from its inability to identify unknown volatile compounds in a sample [73]. IMS, PTR-TOFMS and SIFT-MS are usually operated with a multicapillary column (MCC) [22,61,74] to separate chemical isomers having the same mass-to-charge ratios.…”

“…Another reason for which exhaled breath analysis and related VOCs are receiving much attention in the scientific, clinical, and research communities is because of their ability to examine biochemical processes in the human body in real time without being invasive, and they can also be carried out often under any circumstances, such as during surgery or in intensive care units [13,18,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Unlike blood and urine, breath samples have the advantage of having an unlimited supply of samples, which might be collected in time frames as little as seconds and on demand for as long as needed.…”

Reversible colorimetric sensing of volatile analytes by wicking in close proximity to a photonic film

“…[10][11][12][13] Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be employed as biomarkers for various diseases or disorders. [14][15][16] For example, VOCs in breath can be associated with radiation exposure, 17,18 which is a signicant concern for astronauts in outer space. Moreover, vapor detection from uid samples (e.g., sweat and saliva) can achieve real-time continuous monitoring and provide insights into one's health status.…”