Breath test identifies bacteria's fingerprint
Scientists have identified the chemical 'fingerprints' given off
by specific bacteria when present in the lungs, potentially allowing for a quick
and simple breath test to diagnose infections such as tuberculosis. Publishing
their study January 11, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Breath Research, the
researchers have successfully distinguished between different types of
bacteria, as well as different strains of the same bacteria, in the lungs of
mice by analysing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in exhaled
breath.
It is
hoped that a simple breath test could reduce the diagnosis time of lung
infections from days and weeks to just minutes.
Co-author
of the paper, Jane Hill, from the University of Vermont, said:
"Traditional methods employed to diagnose bacterial infections of the lung
require the collection of a sample that is then used to grow bacteria. The
isolated colony of bacteria is then biochemically tested to classify it and to
see how resistant it is to antibiotics.
"This
whole process can take days for some of the common bacteria and even weeks for
the causative agent for tuberculosis. Breath analysis would reduce the time-to-diagnosis
to just minutes"
Clinicians
see breath-testing as an attractive method for diagnosing disease due to its
ease of use and non-invasiveness. Scientists have already investigated
breath-based diagnostics for multiple cancers, asthma and diabetes.
In this study, the researchers, from the University of Vermont,
analysed the VOCs given off by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, both
of which are common in acute and chronic lung infections.
They
infected mice with the two bacteria and sampled their breath after 24 hours.
The VOCs were analysed using a technique called secondary electrospray
ionization mass spectrometry (SESI-MS), which is capable of detecting VOCs down
to parts per trillion.
They found a statistically significant difference between the
breath profiles of the mice infected with the bacteria and the mice that were
uninfected. The two different species of bacteria could also be distinguished
to a statistically significant level, as could the two different strains of the P. aeruginosa that
were used.
They
hypothesise that bacteria in the lungs produce unique VOCs that are not found
in regular human breath due to their differing metabolism.
"We
have strong evidence that we can distinguish between bacterial infections of
the lung in mice very effectively using the breathprint SESI-MS approach and I
suspect that we will also be able to distinguish between bacterial, viral and
fungal infections of the lung.
"To
that end, we are now collaborating with colleagues to sample patients in order
to demonstrate the strengths, as well as limitations, of breath analysis more
comprehensively," continued Hill.
Source: Institute
of Physics (IOP)
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