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INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGY

Online recording of ethane traces in human breath via infrared laser spectroscopy

Institut für Lasermedizin, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

Submitted 21 May 2003 ; accepted in final form 31 July 2003

A method is described for rapidly measuring the ethane concentration in exhaled human breath. Ethane is considered a volatile marker for lipid peroxidation. The breath samples are analyzed in real time during single exhalations by means of infrared cavity leak-out spectroscopy. This is an ultrasensitive laser-based method for the analysis of trace gases on the sub-parts per billion level. We demonstrate that this technique is capable of online quantifying of ethane traces in exhaled human breath down to 500 parts per trillion with a time resolution of better than 800 ms. This study includes what we believe to be the first measured expirograms for trace fractions of ethane. The expirograms were recorded after a controlled inhalation exposure to 1 part per million of ethane. The normalized slope of the alveolar plateau was determined, which shows a linear increase over the first breathing cycles and ends in a mean value between 0.21 and 0.39 liter^-1. The washout process was observed for a time period of 30 min and was modelled by a threefold exponential decay function, with decay times ranging from 12 to 24, 341 to 481, and 370 to 1,770 s. Our analyzer provides a promising noninvasive tool for online monitoring of the oxidative stress status.

alveolar slope; breath analysis; cavity leak-out spectroscopy; lipid peroxidation; oxidative stress; washout

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