Executive Summary : | This research aims to develop two analytical tools, the "coated carbon mesh supported passive microsorbent device" and the "active microextraction sorbent trap device," to improve the detection of pneumonia, diabetes, and skin diseases. The devices will be coupled with human skin, breath, and urine samples to monitor three types of metabolites generated by the human body. The hypothesis is that certain microbial and host volatile metabolites are present in the breath and skin of patients with pneumonia caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens, providing a diagnostic target for these pneumonias. The component of this metabolic profile that is microbial in origin will respond to effective antibiotic or antifungal therapy and disappear from the breath and skin, providing a rapid, in vivo assessment of diseases through human metabolites analysis. The coated carbon mesh supported passive microsorbent device will be designed using thermally stable biocompatible polypropylene material, followed by sorbent coatings with carboxen, polydimethylsiloxane, and hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced materials. The active microextraction sorbent trap will be developed after packing customized porous sorbent materials, like Tenax, divinyl benzene, and carboxen, within a narrow metal tube. The sampler will be connected to a small vacuum pump or plunger to withdraw gaseous samples from human breath. Both devices will be desorbed in GC-MS to estimate metabolites concentrations from mass spectral data analysis. The devices will be connected to a portable mass spectrometer for on-site disease detection. |