(Press-News.org) 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 today, 11 January, 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.
###
From Friday 11 January, the paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/1752-7163/7/1/016003
Notes to Editors
Contact
1. For further information, a full draft of the journal paper or contact with one of the researchers, contact IOP Press Officer, Michael Bishop:
Tel: +44 (0) 1179 301032
E-mail: michael.bishop@iop.org
Detecting bacterial lung infections: in vivo evaluation of in vitro volatile fingerprints
2. The published version of the paper "Detecting bacterial lung infections: in vivo evaluation of in vitro volatile fingerprints" J. Breath Res. 7 016003 will be freely available online from Friday 11 January. It will be available at http://iopscience.iop.org/1752-7163/7/1/016003
Journal of Breath Research
3. This journal is dedicated to all aspects of breath science, with the major focus on analysis of exhaled breath in physiology and medicine, and the diagnosis and treatment of breath odours.
IOP Publishing
4. IOP Publishing provides publications through which leading-edge scientific research is distributed worldwide. IOP Publishing is central to the Institute of Physics (IOP), a not-for-profit society. Any financial surplus earned by IOP Publishing goes to support science through the activities of IOP.Beyond our traditional journals programme, we make high-value scientific information easily accessible through an ever-evolving portfolio of community websites, magazines, conference proceedings and a multitude of electronic services. Focused on making the most of new technologies, we're continually improving our electronic interfaces to make it easier for researchers to find exactly what they need, when they need it, in the format that suits them best. Go to http://ioppublishing.org/.
The Institute of Physics
5. The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society. We are a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 45,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. We engage with policymakers and the general public to develop awareness and understanding of the value of physics and, through IOP Publishing, we are world leaders in professional scientific communications. Go to http://www.iop.org
Breath test identifies bacteria's fingerprint
2013-01-11
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Molecular machine could hold key to more efficient manufacturing
2013-01-11
VIDEO:
Professor Leigh’s molecular machine is based on the ribosome. It features a functionalized nanometre-sized ring that moves along a molecular track, picking up building blocks located on the path and...
Click here for more information.
An industrial revolution on a minute scale is taking place in laboratories at The University of Manchester with the development of a highly complex machine that mimics how molecules are made in nature.
The artificial molecular machine developed ...
New nanotech fiber: Robust handling, shocking performance
2013-01-11
VIDEO:
Scientists have created the first pure carbon nanotube fibers that combine many of the best features of highly conductive metal wires, strong carbon fibers and pliable textile thread. In a...
Click here for more information.
Rice University's latest nanotechnology breakthrough was more than 10 years in the making, but it still came with a shock. Scientists from Rice, the Dutch firm Teijin Aramid, the U.S. Air Force and Israel's Technion Institute this week unveiled ...
Study: Model for brain signaling flawed
2013-01-11
A new study out today in the journal Science turns two decades of understanding about how brain cells communicate on its head. The study demonstrates that the tripartite synapse – a model long accepted by the scientific community and one in which multiple cells collaborate to move signals in the central nervous system – does not exist in the adult brain.
"Our findings demonstrate that the tripartite synaptic model is incorrect," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., lead author of the study and co-director of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Center ...
Women with pre-eclampsia are at higher risk of complications following childbirth
2013-01-11
Women with pre-eclampsia are at a higher risk of complications following delivery and should continue to be monitored for up to 72 hours, suggests a new review published today (11/01/13) in The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (TOG).
The review analyses the health risks associated with postnatal hypertension, elevated blood pressure that occurs after childbirth, and looks at the women at risk of this condition and treatments available.
There is extensive literature on hypertension in the antenatal and intrapartum period, but there is little information on postpartum ...
Women should wait at least 12 months before trying for a baby following weight loss surgery
2013-01-11
Women should wait at least 12 months before trying for a baby following weight loss surgery and need further advice and information on reproductive issues, suggests a new evidence-based literature review published today (11/01/13) in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG).
The review looks at the safety, advantages and limitations of bariatric surgery and multidisciplinary management of patients before, during and after pregnancy.
With the prevalence of obesity among women of reproductive age expected to rise from 24.2% in 2005 to 28.3% in 2015, the number of women ...
HRT for postmenopausal symptoms can be recommended as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy
2013-01-11
Herbal and complementary medicines could be recommended as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for treating postmenopausal symptoms says a new review published today in The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (TOG).
The review outlines the advantages and limitations of both pharmacological and herbal and complementary treatments for women with postmenopausal symptoms.
The menopause is defined as the time after a woman's menstrual periods have ceased (12 months after a woman's final menstrual period). It is associated with an estrogen deficiency and can cause ...
New material harvests energy from water vapor
2013-01-11
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT engineers have created a new polymer film that can generate electricity by drawing on a ubiquitous source: water vapor.
The new material changes its shape after absorbing tiny amounts of evaporated water, allowing it to repeatedly curl up and down. Harnessing this continuous motion could drive robotic limbs or generate enough electricity to power micro- and nanoelectronic devices, such as environmental sensors.
"With a sensor powered by a battery, you have to replace it periodically. If you have this device, you can harvest energy from the environment ...
A rock is a clock: Physicist uses matter to tell time
2013-01-11
Ever since he was a kid growing up in Germany, Holger Müller has been asking himself a fundamental question: What is time?
That question has now led Müller, today an associate professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, to a fundamentally new way of measuring time.
Taking advantage of the fact that, in nature, matter can be both a particle and a wave, he has discovered a way to tell time by counting the oscillations of a matter wave. A matter wave's frequency is 10 billion times higher than that of visible light.
"A rock is a clock, so to speak," ...
The effects of China's One Child Policy on its children
2013-01-11
New research shows China's controversial One Child Policy (OCP) has not only dramatically re-shaped the population, but has produced individuals lacking characteristics important for economic and social attainment.
In research published today in Science, Professors Lisa Cameron and Lata Gangadharan from Monash University, Professor Xin Meng from the Australian National University (ANU) and Associate Professor Nisvan Erkal from the University of Melbourne examined cohorts of children born just before and after the OCP was introduced. They assessed social and competitive ...
Bengali forests are fading away
2013-01-11
RAPID deterioration in mangrove health is occurring in the Sundarbans, resulting in as much as 200m of coast disappearing in a single year.
A report published today (11th Jan) in Remote Sensing by scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) states that as human development thrives, and global temperature continues to rise, natural protection from tidal waves and cyclones is being degraded at alarming rates. This will inevitably lead to species loss in this richly biodiverse part of the world, if nothing is done to stop it.
ZSL's Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, senior ...