Search

The awareness of the origin of meat that people consume is rapidly increasing today and with that increases the demand for fast and accurate methods for its distinction. In this work, we present for the first time the application of Raman spectroscopy using a portable spectrometer for the classification of pork. Breeding conditions were distinguished from spectral differences of adipose tissues. The pork samples were obtained from Dutch vendors, from supermarkets with quality marks of 1 and 3 stars, and from a local butcher shop. In total, 60 fat samples were examined using a fiber-optic-coupled Raman spectrometer. Recorded spectra were preprocessed before being subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. An initial data exploration using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed a separation of adipose tissue samples between the lower supermarket quality grade and the samples from the local butcher. Moreover, predictive modeling using Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) resulted in 96.67% classification accuracy for all three sources, demonstrating the suitability of the presented method for intraspecies meat classification and the potential on-site use.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are important metabolites produced by the gut microbiome as a result of the fermentation of non-digestible polysaccharides. The most abundant SCFAs are acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid which make up 95% of this group of metabolites in the gut. Whilst conventional analysis SCFAs is done using either blood or fecal samples, SCFAs can also be detected in exhaled breath using proton transfer reaction-time-of-flight- mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) using H3O+ for ionization. However, no investigation has been performed to characterize the reactions of SCFAs with H3O+ and with other reagent ions, such as O2+ and NO+. Gas-phase samples of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid were analyzed with SRI/PTR-ToF-MS under dry and humid conditions. The ions generated and their distribution was determined for each reagent ion. It was found the humidity did not influence the product ion distribution for each SCFA. Using H3O+ as a reagent ion, SRI/PTR-ToF-MS analysis of an exhaled breath sample was performed in real-time to demonstrate the methodology. The presence of SCFAs in exhaled breath was confirmed by thermal desorption—gas chromatography—mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Breath sampling repeatability was within acceptable limits (

The aim of this study was to investigate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath as possible non-invasive markers to monitor the inflammatory response in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients as a result of repeated and prolonged moderate-intensity exercise. We included 18 IBD patients and 19 non-IBD individuals who each completed a 30, 40, or 50 km walking exercise over three consecutive days. Breath and blood samples were taken before the start of the exercise event and every day post-exercise to assess changes in the VOC profiles and cytokine concentrations. Proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) was used to measure exhaled breath VOCs. Multivariate analysis, particularly ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA), was employed to extract relevant ions related to exercise and IBD. Prolonged exercise induces a similar response in breath butanoic acid and plasma cytokines for participants with or without IBD. Butanoic acid showed a significant correlation with the cytokine IL-6, indicating that butanoic acid could be a potential non-invasive marker for exercise-induced inflammation. The findings are relevant in monitoring personalized IBD management.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath provide insights into various metabolic processes and can be used to monitor physiological response to exercise and medication. We integrated and validated in situ a sampling and analysis protocol using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) for exhaled breath research. The approach was demonstrated on a participant cohort comprising users of the cholesterol-lowering drug statins and non-statin users during a field campaign of three days of prolonged and repeated exercise, with no restrictions on food or drink consumption. The effect of prolonged exercise was reflected in the exhaled breath of participants, and relevant VOCs were identified. Most of the VOCs, such as acetone, showed an increase in concentration after the first day of walking and subsequent decrease towards baseline levels prior to walking on the second day. A cluster of short-chain fatty acids including acetic acid, butanoic acid, and propionic acid were identified in exhaled breath as potential indicators of gut microbiota activity relating to exercise and drug use. We have provided novel information regarding the use of breathomics for non-invasive monitoring of changes in human metabolism and especially for the gut microbiome activity in relation to exercise and the use of medication, such as statins.

This paper aimed to develop a standalone application for optimizing flow rates in liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). To do so, Van Deemter’s equation, Knox’ equation and Golay’s equation were implemented in a MATLAB script and subsequently a graphical user interface (GUI) was created. The application will show the optimal flow rate or linear velocity and the corresponding plate height for the set input parameters. Furthermore, a plot will be shown in which the plate height is plotted against the linear flow velocity. Hence, this application will give optimized flow rates for any set conditions with minimal effort.