scholarly journals Biochemical Methanol Gas Sensor (MeOH Bio-Sniffer) for Non-Invasive Assessment of Intestinal Flora from Breath Methanol

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4897
Author(s):  
Koji Toma ◽  
Kanako Iwasaki ◽  
Geng Zhang ◽  
Kenta Iitani ◽  
Takahiro Arakawa ◽  
...  

Methanol (MeOH) in exhaled breath has potential for non-invasive assessment of intestinal flora. In this study, we have developed a biochemical gas sensor (bio-sniffer) for MeOH in the gas phase using fluorometry and a cascade reaction with two enzymes, alcohol oxidase (AOD) and formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH). In the cascade reaction, oxidation of MeOH was initially catalyzed by AOD to produce formaldehyde, and then this formaldehyde was successively oxidized via FALDH catalysis together with reduction of oxidized form of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). As a result of the cascade reaction, reduced form of NAD (NADH) was produced, and MeOH vapor was measured by detecting autofluorescence of NADH. In the development of the MeOH bio-sniffer, three conditions were optimized: selecting a suitable FALDH for better discrimination of MeOH from ethanol in the cascade reaction; buffer pH that maximizes the cascade reaction; and materials and methods to prevent leaking of NAD+ solution from an AOD-FALDH membrane. The dynamic range of the constructed MeOH bio-sniffer was 0.32–20 ppm, which encompassed the MeOH concentration in exhaled breath of healthy people. The measurement of exhaled breath of a healthy subject showed a similar sensorgram to the standard MeOH vapor. These results suggest that the MeOH bio-sniffer exploiting the cascade reaction will become a powerful tool for the non-invasive intestinal flora testing.

2020 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. e405
Author(s):  
Jan Nizinski ◽  
Lukasz Kamieniarz ◽  
Piotr Filberek ◽  
Greta Sibrecht ◽  
Przemysław Guzik

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH/NAD+) is involved in many important biochemical reactions in human metabolism, including participation in energy production by mitochondria. Flow Mediated Skin Fluorescence (FMSF) is a non-invasive method to study dynamic changes in the content of the reduced form of NADH by measuring the optical properties of NADH related to the emission of the autofluorescent light (460 nm) after an earlier excitation by ultraviolet light. This review summarises the available studies using this method to describe its potential and limitations.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (18) ◽  
pp. 5514
Author(s):  
Y. Lan Pham ◽  
Jonathan Beauchamp

The detection of chemical compounds in exhaled human breath presents an opportunity to determine physiological state, diagnose disease or assess environmental exposure. Recent advancements in metabolomics research have led to improved capabilities to explore human metabolic profiles in breath. Despite some notable challenges in sampling and analysis, exhaled breath represents a desirable medium for metabolomics applications, foremost due to its non-invasive, convenient and practically limitless availability. Several breath-based tests that target either endogenous or exogenous gas-phase compounds are currently established and are in practical and/or clinical use. This review outlines the concept of breath analysis in the context of these unique tests and their applications. The respective breath biomarkers targeted in each test are discussed in relation to their physiological production in the human body and the development and implementation of the associated tests. The paper concludes with a brief insight into prospective tests and an outlook of the future direction of breath research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueying Wang ◽  
Yanbin Feng ◽  
Xiaojia Guo ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Siyang Ning ◽  
...  

AbstractNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and its reduced form are indispensable cofactors in life. Diverse NAD mimics have been developed for applications in chemical and biological sciences. Nicotinamide cytosine dinucleotide (NCD) has emerged as a non-natural cofactor to mediate redox transformations, while cells are fed with chemically synthesized NCD. Here, we create NCD synthetase (NcdS) by reprograming the substrate binding pockets of nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NaMN) adenylyltransferase to favor cytidine triphosphate and nicotinamide mononucleotide over their regular substrates ATP and NaMN, respectively. Overexpression of NcdS alone in the model host Escherichia coli facilitated intracellular production of NCD, and higher NCD levels up to 5.0 mM were achieved upon further pathway regulation. Finally, the non-natural cofactor self-sufficiency was confirmed by mediating an NCD-linked metabolic circuit to convert L-malate into D-lactate. NcdS together with NCD-linked enzymes offer unique tools and opportunities for intriguing studies in chemical biology and synthetic biology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 977.1-977
Author(s):  
A. Potapova ◽  
O. Egorova ◽  
O. Alekseeva ◽  
A. Volkov ◽  
S. Radenska-Lopovok

Background:Ultrasound (US) is a non-invasive and safe imaging method that allows in vivo differentiation of the morphological structures of subcutaneous fat (SCF) tissue in in normal and pathology.Objectives:Reveal features of ultrasound changes in SCF in panniculitis (Pn).Methods:57 patients (f – 45, m - 12) aged 18 - 67 years with an initial diagnosis of erythema nodosum and a disease duration of 3.6 ± 1.4 years were examined. In addition to the general clinical examination, a computed tomography of the chest organs and a pathomorphological examination of a skin biopsy from the site of the node were performed. Ultrasound was performed on a MyLabTwice apparatus (ESAOTE, Italy) using a multi-frequency linear transducer (10-18 MHz) with the PD technique, the parameters of which were adapted for recording low-speed flows (PRF 300-600 Hz, low filter, dynamic range - 20-40 dB), the presence of vascularization was assessed not only in the affected area, but also on the contralateral side using high-energy Doppler.Results:33 patients were diagnosed with septal Pn (SPn), 24 - lobular Pn (LPn). In all cases, the diagnosis was verified by histological examination. Ultrasound made it possible to assess the thickness, echoicity and vascularization of the SCF. In 35 patients, significant thickening of the SCF was revealed (as compared to the contralateral side), of which in 14 cases with SPn, in 21 - with LPn. Significant diffuse thickening of the SCF with the contralateral side was observed in 18 patients, incl. in 12 (66%) patients with LPn. Limited thickening was more typical for SPn (73%). A significant increase in the echoicity of the SCF was noted in all forms of Pn. A “lobular” echo pattern with an anechogenic environment was observed in 25 patients, of which 18 (72%) had LPn. An increase in vascularization compared to the contralateral side was recorded in 30 cases (SPn-17, LPn-13).Conclusion:The obtained preliminary results indicate the important role of ultrasound in assessing the depth and prevalence of the inflammatory process at Pn. To clarify the diagnostic value of this method, further studies are needed on a larger sample of patients.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. S63
Author(s):  
E. Ibáñez-Martínez ◽  
M. López-Nogueroles ◽  
M. Alcoriza-Balaguer ◽  
I. Pérez ◽  
M. Roca-Marugán ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2557-2579 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Archer-Nicholls ◽  
D. Lowe ◽  
S. Utembe ◽  
J. Allan ◽  
R. A. Zaveri ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have made a number of developments to the Weather, Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), with the aim of improving model prediction of trace atmospheric gas-phase chemical and aerosol composition, and of interactions between air quality and weather. A reduced form of the Common Reactive Intermediates gas-phase chemical mechanism (CRIv2-R5) has been added, using the Kinetic Pre-Processor (KPP) interface, to enable more explicit simulation of VOC degradation. N2O5 heterogeneous chemistry has been added to the existing sectional MOSAIC aerosol module, and coupled to both the CRIv2-R5 and existing CBM-Z gas-phase schemes. Modifications have also been made to the sea-spray aerosol emission representation, allowing the inclusion of primary organic material in sea-spray aerosol. We have worked on the European domain, with a particular focus on making the model suitable for the study of nighttime chemistry and oxidation by the nitrate radical in the UK atmosphere. Driven by appropriate emissions, wind fields and chemical boundary conditions, implementation of the different developments are illustrated, using a modified version of WRF-Chem 3.4.1, in order to demonstrate the impact that these changes have in the Northwest European domain. These developments are publicly available in WRF-Chem from version 3.5.1 onwards.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3776
Author(s):  
Libin Sun ◽  
Douglas Conrad ◽  
Drew A. Hall ◽  
Kurt D. Benkstein ◽  
Steve Semancik ◽  
...  

A plasmonic sensing platform was developed as a noninvasive method to monitor gas-phase biomarkers related to cystic fibrosis (CF). The nanohole array (NHA) sensing platform is based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and offers a rapid data acquisition capability. Among the numerous gas-phase biomarkers that can be used to assess the lung health of CF patients, acetaldehyde was selected for this investigation. Previous research with diverse types of sensing platforms, with materials ranging from metal oxides to 2-D materials, detected gas-phase acetaldehyde with the lowest detection limit at the µmol/mol (parts-per-million (ppm)) level. In contrast, this work presents a plasmonic sensing platform that can approach the nmol/mol (parts-per-billion (ppb)) level, which covers the required concentration range needed to monitor the status of lung infection and find pulmonary exacerbations. During the experimental measurements made by a spectrometer and by a smartphone, the sensing examination was initially performed in a dry air background and then with high relative humidity (RH) as an interferent, which is relevant to exhaled breath. At a room temperature of 23.1 °C, the lowest detection limit for the investigated plasmonic sensing platform under dry air and 72% RH conditions are 250 nmol/mol (ppb) and 1000 nmol/mol (ppb), respectively.


Author(s):  
Herbert Fink ◽  
Tim Maihöfer ◽  
Jeffrey Bender ◽  
Jochen Schulat

Abstract Blood glucose monitoring (BGM) is the most important part of diabetes management. In classical BGM, glucose measurement by test strips involves invasive finger pricking. We present results of a clinical study that focused on a non-invasive approach based on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath. Main objective was the discovery of markers for prediction of blood glucose levels (BGL) in diabetic patients. Exhaled breath was measured repeatedly in 60 diabetic patients (30 type 1, 30 type 2) in fasting state and after a standardized meal. Proton Transfer Reaction Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) was used to sample breath every 15 minutes for a total of six hours. BGLs were tested in parallel via BGM test strips. VOC signals were plotted against glucose trends for each subject to identify correlations. Exhaled indole (a bacterial metabolite of tryptophan) showed significant mean correlation to BGL (with negative trend) and significant individual correlation in 36 patients. The type of diabetes did not affect this result. Additional experiments of one healthy male subject by ingestion of lactulose and 13C-labeled glucose (n=3) revealed that exhaled indole does not directly originate from food digestion by intestinal microbiota. As indole has been linked to human glucose metabolism, it might be a tentative marker in breath for non-invasive BGM. Clinical studies with greater diversity are required for confirmation of such results and further investigation of metabolic pathways.


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