On-line Detection of Human Skin Vapors

• Published in: Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 1060 - 1063
• Main Authors: Martínez-Lozano, Pablo, de la Mora, Juan Fernández
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.06.2009; Springer-Verlag; Elsevier; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Application Note; Atmospheric Pressure; Bioinformatics; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrospraying; Equipment Design; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - analysis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gas chromatography; Gases - chemistry; Humans; Humidity; Intermediary metabolites. Miscellaneous; Ionization; Ions; Lactic acid; Lactic Acid - analysis; Male; Mass spectrometry; Metabolites; Online Systems - instrumentation; Organic Chemistry; Other biological molecules; Proteomics; Skin; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization - methods; Surface ionization; Vertebrates: skin, associated glands, phaneres, light organs, various exocrine glands (salt gland, uropygial gland...), adipose tissue, connective tissue; Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis; Skin Emanation; Secondary Electrospray Ionization; Extractive Electrospray Ionization; Skin Vapor; Dodecanoic Acid; Human; Secondary electrospray ionization; On line; Atmospheric pressure; Coupled method; Volatile organic compound; Gas analysis; Real time; Electrospray; Hydroxyacid; Unsaturated fatty acid; Skin; Lactic acid; Ketoacid; Gas phase; Detection; Mass spectrometry
• ISSN: 1044-0305; 1879-1123; 1879-1123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasms.2009.01.012

Vapors released by the skin in the hand of one human subject are detected in real time by sampling them directly from the ambient gas surrounding the hand, ionizing them by secondary electrospray ionization (SESI, via contact with the charged cloud from an electrospray source), and analyzing them in a mass spectrometer with an atmospheric pressure source (API-MS). This gas-phase approach is complementary to alternative on-line surface ionization methods such as DESI and DART. A dominating peak of lactic acid and a complete series of saturated and singly unsaturated fatty acids (C 12 to C 18) are observed, in accordance with previous off-line studies by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Several other metabolites have been identified, including ketomonocarboxylic and hydroxymonocarboxylic acids. We detect by SESI-MS in real time a family of fatty acids and several other compounds emanated from human skin.