Breath air analysis and its use as a biomarker in biological monitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to chemical agents.

The analysis of exhaled air has several advantages since it is a noninvasive method applicable to a large number of toxic agents, in addition to being a simpler matrix than those of other biological samples such as urine and blood. However, it presents some challenges, such as the necessity of a more sensitive sampling procedure, since the chemical substances eliminated through exhaled air are unchanged in form, not being metabolized, and exhaled compounds are present at extremely low concentrations, i.e. in the nanomolar range. To improve the sensitivity and precision of measurement of the concentration of these substances in exhaled air, the sample usually has to be concentrated before assay by gas chromatography. To this end, the use of the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique has been proposed as an efficient sampling method. This paper presents a revision of breath analysis as a biomarker for occupational and environmental exposure to chemicals. The sampling methods and the potential use of SPME for determining chemical substances in exhaled air are discussed.

[1]  R. Lauwerys,et al.  Industrial chemical exposure : guidelines for biological monitoring , 1993 .

[2]  H. K. Wilson,et al.  A novel device for capturing breath samples for solvent analysis. , 1997, The Science of the total environment.

[3]  S M Rappaport,et al.  Benzene and naphthalene in air and breath as indicators of exposure to jet fuel , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[4]  X. Zhang,et al.  Investigation of volatile biomarkers in lung cancer blood using solid-phase microextraction and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. , 2004, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[5]  John Doull,et al.  VIRAL DISEASES: A SYMPOSIUM , 1976, The Ulster Medical Journal.

[6]  Janusz Pawliszyn,et al.  Solid phase microextraction : theory and practice , 1997 .

[7]  L. Wallace,et al.  Recent advances in measuring exhaled breath and estimating exposure and body burden for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). , 1995, Environmental health perspectives.

[8]  J. Pleil,et al.  Trichloroethene levels in human blood and exhaled breath from controlled inhalation exposure. , 1998, Environmental health perspectives.

[9]  R. Rosellini,et al.  Environmental and occupational exposure to benzene by analysis of breath and blood. , 1988, British journal of industrial medicine.

[10]  K. Dubowski.  Breath analysis as a technique in clinical chemistry. , 1974, Clinical chemistry.

[11]  J. Cocker,et al.  Biological monitoring for trimethylbenzene exposure: a human volunteer study and a practical example in the workplace. , 2006, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[12]  E. Silbergeld,et al.  Role of biomarkers in identifying and understanding environmentally induced disease. , 1994, Clinical chemistry.

[13]  L. Wallace,et al.  Breath measurements as volatile organic compound biomarkers. , 1996 .

[14]  S. Olesik,et al.  Application of low-temperature glassy carbon-coated macrofibers for solid-phase microextraction analysis of simulated breath volatiles. , 2003, Analytical chemistry.

[15]  I. Matthews,et al.  Biological monitoring of midwives' exposure to N2O using the Bio-VOC breath sampler , 2002, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.

[16]  H. K. Wilson,et al.  Biological monitoring of workers exposed to benzene in the coke oven industry. , 1988, British journal of industrial medicine.

[17]  R. Nordlinder,et al.  A field method for sampling benzene in end-exhaled air. , 1995, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[18]  H. Maibach,et al.  Benzene levels in ambient air and breath of smokers and nonsmokers in urban and pristine environments. , 1986, Journal of toxicology and environmental health.

[19]  L. Perbellini,et al.  Benzene in the blood and breath of normal people and occupationally exposed workers. , 1989, American journal of industrial medicine.

[20]  X. Zhang,et al.  Determination of acetone in human breath by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and solid-phase microextraction with on-fiber derivatization. , 2004, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[21]  C. Money,et al.  Exhaled breath analysis as a measure of workplace exposure to benzene ppm. , 1989, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[22]  Karla D. Thrall,et al.  Design and Evaluation of a Breath-Analysis System for Biological Monitoring of Volatile Compounds , 2001 .

[23]  J. Pawliszyn,et al.  Solid-phase microextraction for the analysis of human breath. , 1997, Analytical chemistry.

[24]  G. Tranfo,et al.  An optimized sampling and GC-MS analysis method for benzene in exhaled breath, as a biomarker for occupational exposure. , 1999, Talanta.

[25]  M. Phillips.  Method for the collection and assay of volatile organic compounds in breath. , 1997, Analytical biochemistry.

[26]  D. B. Milligan,et al.  In situ analysis of solvents on breath and blood: a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometric study. , 2002, Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM.

[27]  W. Jo,et al.  Utilization of breath analysis for exposure estimates of benzene associated with active smoking. , 2000, Environmental research.

[28]  J. Pawliszyn,et al.  Breath analysis and monitoring by membrane extraction with sorbent interface. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[29]  D. Hayes,et al.  A “breathalyser” for lung cancer? , 1999, The Lancet.

[30]  Younan Xia,et al.  Biological monitoring of chemical exposures in the workplace , 1992 .

[31]  I. Hertz-Picciotto,et al.  Self-collected breath sampling for monitoring low-level benzene exposures among automobile mechanics. , 2002, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[32]  Sanford D Zelnick,et al.  Personal exposure to JP-8 jet fuel vapors and exhaust at air force bases. , 2000, Environmental health perspectives.

[33]  M. Imbriani,et al.  A field method for sampling toluene in end-exhaled air, as a biomarker of occupational exposure: correlation with other exposure indices. , 2004, Industrial health.

[34]  Solid phase microextraction for analysis of alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons in human breath. , 2005, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[35]  L. Perbellini,et al.  Comparison of breath, blood and urine concentrations in the biomonitoring of environmental exposure to 1,3-butadiene, 2,5-dimethylfuran, and benzene , 2003, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[36]  W. Jo,et al.  Worker exposure to aromatic volatile organic compounds in dry cleaning stores. , 2001, AIHAJ : a journal for the science of occupational and environmental health and safety.

[37]  P. J. Callahan,et al.  Volatile organic compounds as breath biomarkers for active and passive smoking. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[38]  J. Raymer,et al.  A device for sampling of human alveolar breath for the measurement of expired volatile organic compounds. , 1990, Journal of analytical toxicology.