Secondary electrospray mass spectrometry (SESI-MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for comparative volatile/semi-volatile organic compound profiling in human plasma and breath
S. Palmisano, A. R. Anderson, Z. J. Sasiene, E. Schaller, R. M. Taylor, R. Chitale, P. T. McMahon, P. M. Mach, T. G. Glaros, J. Baca and E. M. McBride
Abstract
Linking breath and blood metabolomics: advancing noninvasive biomarker discovery
Breath analysis offers a promising noninvasive alternative to blood-based diagnostics, but the relationship between breath and plasma metabolites remains poorly understood. This study integrates real-time SESI-MS breath analysis with LC-MS plasma profiling to systematically compare volatile and semi-volatile compounds across both matrices. By optimizing sample preparation and data processing workflows, including methanol-based extraction and the BreathXplorer pipeline, the study enhances feature detection and overlap between breath and plasma. The identification of shared metabolic signatures highlights the potential of breath analysis as a surrogate for systemic metabolomics, paving the way for more reliable, noninvasive diagnostic strategies.