Nitric oxide breath testing by tunable-diode laser absorption spectroscopy: application in monitoring respiratory inflammation.

We used a high-resolution mid-IR tunable-laser absorption spectroscopy (TLAS) system with a single IV-VI laser operating near 5.2 microm to measure the level of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in human breath. A method of internal calibration using simultaneous eNO and exhaled CO2 measurements eliminated the need for system calibration with gas standards. The results observed from internally calibrating the instrument for eNO measurements were compared with measurements of eNO calibrated to gas standards and were found to be similar. Various parameters of the TLAS system for eNO breath testing were examined and include gas cell pressure, exhalation time, and ambient NO concentrations. A reduction in eNO from elevated concentrations (approximately 44 parts in 10(9)) to near-normal levels (<20 parts in 10(9)) from an asthmatic patient was observed after the patient had received treatment with an inhaled glucocorticoid anti-inflammatory medication. Such measurements can help in evaluating airway inflammation and in monitoring the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory therapies.

[1]  F. Capasso,et al.  Cavity ringdown spectroscopic detection of nitric oxide with a continuous-wave quantum-cascade laser. , 2001, Applied optics.

[2]  N. Binding,et al.  NO chemiluminescence in exhaled air: interference of compounds from endogenous or exogenous sources. , 2000, The European respiratory journal.

[3]  W. Potter,et al.  Simultaneous NO and CO(2) measurement in human breath with a single IV-VI mid-infrared laser. , 2002, Optics letters.

[4]  S. Kharitonov,et al.  Exhaled and nasal nitric oxide measurements : recommendations , 1997 .

[5]  E. Weitzberg,et al.  Increased amount of nitric oxide in exhaled air of asthmatics. , 1993, The European respiratory journal.

[6]  A. Cho,et al.  Sensitive absorption spectroscopy with a room-temperature distributed-feedback quantum-cascade laser. , 1998, Optics letters.

[7]  Recommendations for Standardized Procedures for the Online and Offline Measurement of Exhaled Lower Respiratory Nitric Oxide and Nasal Nitric Oxide in Adults and Children — 1999 , 1999 .

[8]  A. Cho,et al.  Effective utilization of quantum-cascade distributed-feedback lasers in absorption spectroscopy. , 2000, Applied optics.

[9]  P. Barnes,et al.  Clinical aspects of exhaled nitric oxide. , 2000, The European respiratory journal.

[10]  D. Yates,et al.  Role of exhaled nitric oxide in asthma , 2001, Immunology and cell biology.

[11]  A. Nadezhdinskii,et al.  Human breath trace gas content study by tunable diode laser spectroscopy technique , 1996 .

[12]  Laurence S. Rothman,et al.  Reprint of: The HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database and HAWKS (HITRAN Atmospheric Workstation): 1996 edition , 1998 .

[13]  N. Dai,et al.  Molecular beam epitaxy of PbSrSe and PbSe'PbSrSe multiple quantum well structures for use in midinfrared light emitting devices , 2000 .

[14]  Arthur S Slutsky,et al.  Marked flow-dependence of exhaled nitric oxide using a new technique to exclude nasal nitric oxide. , 1997, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[15]  A. Cho,et al.  Spectroscopic detection of biological NO with a quantum cascade laser , 2001, Applied physics. B, Lasers and optics.

[16]  J. Reid,et al.  Linewidth measurements of tunable diode lasers using heterodyne and etalon techniques. , 1982, Applied optics.

[17]  Laurence S. Rothman,et al.  The HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database and HAWKS (HITRAN atmospheric workstation) , 1998, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[18]  Eugene V. Stepanov,et al.  Single-breath NO detection with tunable diode lasers for pulmonary disease diagnosis , 1999, Advanced Laser Technologies.

[19]  J. Drazen,et al.  Inflammation and airway function in asthma: what you see is not necessarily what you get. , 1998, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[20]  R. Dweik,et al.  NO chemical events in the human airway during the immediate and late antigen-induced asthmatic response , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[21]  X. Fang,et al.  Transfer of PbSe/PbEuSe epilayers grown by MBE on BaF2-coated Si(111) , 1999 .

[22]  Zhisheng Shi,et al.  Above-room-temperature optically pumped 4.12 μm midinfrared vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers , 2002 .

[23]  P. Barnes,et al.  Exhaled and nasal nitric oxide measurements: recommendations. The European Respiratory Society Task Force. , 1997, The European respiratory journal.

[24]  X. Fang,et al.  Above-room-temperature continuous-wave mid-infrared photoluminescence from PbSe/PbSrSe quantum wells , 1999 .

[25]  X. Fang,et al.  Fabrication of thin-film cleaved cavities using a bonding and cleaving fixture , 2000, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[26]  X. Fang,et al.  Midinfrared photoluminescence from IV–VI semiconductors grown on silicon , 2001 .

[27]  A Fried,et al.  Versatile integrated tunable diode laser system for high precision: application for ambient measurements of OCS. , 1991, Applied optics.

[28]  E. Hinkley,et al.  Direct Observation of the Lorentzian Line Shape as Limited by Quantum Phase Noise in a Laser above Threshold , 1969 .

[29]  M. Bernareggi,et al.  Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide in humans and animals. , 1999, Pulmonary pharmacology & therapeutics.

[30]  Mattias Beck,et al.  Continuous Wave Operation of a Mid-Infrared Semiconductor Laser at Room Temperature , 2001, Science.

[31]  Patrick J. McCann,et al.  Breath testing with a mid-IR laser spectrometer , 1999, Optics & Photonics.