VOC Metabolomics: Medicinal Applications and Methodological Improvements
Date
2014-10-07
Authors
Navarro, Karl Anthony
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Abstract
Metabolomics, the science of extracting and analyzing small molecule metabolites from a given sample matrix, has become the method of choice for investigations ranging from environmental to human-health related issues. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers can be used to extract metabolites as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the sample headspace. VOCs were analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and were identified using Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution Identification System (AMDIS) software and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) database. This methodology was applied to differentiate alcoholic patients from healthy controls in an attempt to develop a non-invasive indication of alcoholism. Fecal samples were collected from patients after home passage (defecation into a specimen bag) and via endoscopy. These samples were used to justify endoscopy collected fecal samples, establish the extraction duration (18 hours or 20 minutes) better
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Keywords
VOC Metabolomics, H-SPME, Whipworm treatment, Multiple extraction device, Alcohol liver disease