A PF-GC for Environmental Health Breath Assessment

气动聚焦气相色谱法（PFGC，专利申请中）已经实现了20万亿分之一（0.8 pmol/升）的检测限制在波特兰或环境空气中的苯。PFGC具有用于通用碳氢化合物检测的FID。人体呼吸中的主要内源性化合物有甲烷、甲醇、乙醇、丙酮、醋酸甲酯和异戊二烯。它们的浓度范围从甲烷的80毫摩尔/升到乙酸甲酯的400毫摩尔/升或更低。据报道，人类呼吸中还存在1000多种化合物，其中许多源自吸入的空气。暴露于诸如BTEX或其他工业化学品等有毒物质将在呼吸和周围空气环境中显现出来。PFGC可以检测呼吸和环境空气中已经存在的化合物，比现有的仪器方法具有更高的灵敏度和更低的成本。PFGC具有标准化呼吸分析研究方法的潜力。第一阶段的目标是改进3台商用气相色谱仪用于气动聚焦，并展示它们在单柱和双柱模式下的性能。具体毛细管柱选择的分辨率和选择性将进行评估。将通过同时进行室内空气/呼吸分析来评估性能，以评估通过肺部接触和吸收挥发性有机化合物的毒性。拟议的商业应用：潜在的商业应用包括呼吸分析，用于现场暴露评估和标准监测概况，作为人类和其他有机体暴露和代谢研究的研究工具，用于人寿保险筛选药物使用、吸烟的被动标记物，以及作为有毒化学物质暴露评估工具。

Pneumatic Focusing Gas Chromatography (PFGC, patent pending) has achieved a limit of detection of 20 parts per trillion (0.8 pmol/liter) for benzene in ambient air in Portland OR. PFGC has a FID for universal hydrocarbon detection. Major endogenous compounds in human breath are methane, methanol, ethanol, acetone, methyl acetate, and isoprene. Their concentrations range from 80 nmol/L for methane to 400 pmol/L or less for methyl acetate. More than 1000 additional compounds have been reported present in human breath, many originating in the inhaled air. Exposure to toxics such as BTEX or other industrial chemicals will evidence itself in breath as well as in the ambient air environment. PFGC can detect the compounds already established in breath and ambient air with better sensitivity and lower cost than current instrumental methods. PFGC has the potential to standardize the methodology of breath analysis research. The goal of Phase I is to modify 3 commercial gas chromatographs for pneumatic focusing and demonstrate their performance in single and dual-column modes. Specific capillary column choice for resolution and selectivity will be evaluated. Performance will be evaluated with simultaneous indoor air/breath analysis for assessment of toxic exposure and uptake through the lungs of volatile organic compounds. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Potential commercial applications include breath analysis for exposure assessment onsite, and in standard monitoring profiles, as a research tool of human and other organismal exposure and metabolic studies, and for life insurance screening for passive markers of drug use, tobacco smoking, and as a toxic chemical exposure assessment tool.