Breath Analysis
Non-invasive analysis of biomarkers in exhaled air
What is Breath Analysis?
Breath is a complex mixture made up mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, along with water vapor and trace amounts of inert gases. In addition, it contains tiny concentrations—ranging from parts per million to parts per trillion—of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Despite their low levels, these VOCs hold valuable clues about the body’s internal processes. Endogenous VOCs, produced naturally by the body, are byproducts of normal metabolism or altered metabolic pathways due to disease. These compounds travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, where they are exhaled in breath.
By analyzing the complete mixture of VOCs in exhaled breath, we can gain a real-time snapshot of a person’s metabolic state, potentially offering a powerful, non-invasive method to assess health and detect disease. This approach is at the heart of breathomics, a field dedicated to studying breath biomarkers for early disease detection and personalized medicine.
The Evolution of Breath Analysis
Breath analysis as a diagnostic tool has roots in ancient medicine, where physicians used the odor of a patient’s breath to detect illnesses. A well-known example is the sweet, fruity smell in the breath of diabetic patients, caused by elevated acetone levels—a byproduct of fat metabolism. This early use of breath analysis demonstrated the link between metabolic changes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath.
The modern field of breath analysis began in the 1970s with Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, who identified over 200 VOCs in a single breath sample. His pioneering work revealed the potential of analyzing the full spectrum of VOCs for diagnostic purposes, laying the foundation for breathomics.
Analyzing patterns of multiple VOCs is crucial because diseases often affect several metabolic pathways, leading to changes in many VOCs simultaneously. Technologies like the eNose use advanced pattern recognition and machine learning to interpret these complex VOC profiles, offering a more comprehensive view of an individual’s health status.
By identifying consistent VOC patterns rather than focusing on individual compounds, breath analysis can detect specific diseases more accurately. This non-invasive, real-time method provides a promising tool for early detection and personalized medicine, making breath analysis a powerful asset in modern diagnostics.
What Are Breath Composite Biomarkers?
Breath composite biomarkers are complex, multi-component indicators found in exhaled breath that reflect underlying biological processes in the body. Unlike traditional biomarkers, which often rely on a single molecule (like glucose levels in blood), composite biomarkers are made up of patterns of multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These patterns give a more complete picture of what’s happening inside the body, especially when it comes to detecting diseases.
Why Are Composite Biomarkers Important?
Our body produces thousands of VOCs during normal metabolic processes. However, when there’s an illness or imbalance, certain VOCs may increase or decrease in concentration. A single VOC might not provide enough information on its own, but by analyzing a combination of many VOCs, scientists can detect unique patterns that are linked to specific diseases. This is what makes composite biomarkers so powerful—they capture the complexity of biological changes better than any single molecule can.
The Future of Breath Composite Biomarkers
The field of breath analysis is rapidly evolving, with new technologies making it possible to capture and interpret complex VOC patterns with greater accuracy. As research progresses, composite biomarkers have the potential to become a standard tool in healthcare, providing a non-invasive, real-time way to monitor health and detect diseases early.
Add breath analysis to your research
The SpiroNose® is designed to seamlessly integrate into your scientific research, providing reliable, high-quality breath profiles that support robust and reproducible findings. With proven technology backed by extensive clinical validation, the SpiroNose® is trusted by researchers worldwide to deliver consistent results.
By combining the SpiroNose® with our advanced BreathBase® Solution, you gain access to cutting-edge tools for analyzing complex patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath. This comprehensive approach allows researchers to identify novel composite biomarkers—unique patterns of multiple VOCs—that can provide deeper insights into metabolic changes and disease processes. Whether you are studying respiratory conditions, cancer, or infectious diseases, the BreathBase® platform enables you to explore new diagnostic possibilities with precision and reliability.
If you’re interested in enhancing your research with advanced breath analysis and uncovering novel composite biomarkers, contact us today to discover how the SpiroNose® and BreathBase® Solution can elevate the quality and scope of your studies.