Biological profiling

Optimizing the analytical performance of sorbent tube sampling and TD-GC-MS for disease diagnosis via breath and bio-monitoring 

This study is intended to provide guidance on optimising the analytical performance of thermal desorption (TD) for those carrying out routine or research monitoring of breath for disease diagnosis. It summarises the major steps in the sampling and laboratory workflow, identifies the main analytical challenges and advises on which features and parameter ranges to select. 

A scalable TD-GC-MS approach for the discovery of breath biomarkers of malaria 

This study describes how researchers are using thermal desorption with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD–GC–MS) to measure volatile organic biomarkers in the breath of individuals with malaria. The findings of this pilot study are very encouraging, and demonstrate that this approach is non-invasive and amenable to large-scale studies.

Breath sampling for clinical research and occupational health monitoring

This document describes the design and operation of the new BioVOC-2™ breath sampler, and summarise the applications of this approach, which include clinical diagnostics, occupational health monitoring, and assessing exposure of the public to VOCs.

The application of thermal desorption to chemical ecology 

The field of chemical ecology has expanded rapidly in recent decades, and offers fascinating insights into the complex interactions involving plants, microorganisms and animals. Thermal desorption (TD), in conjunction with gas chromatography (GC), is a useful technique for analysis of trace-level volatiles from living organisms, and in this overview we describe the key features that make it valuable and the various sampling techniques with which it is compatible.