VOLATILE MARKERS OF ORAL MALODOR IN THE BREATH

描述：问题：口腔异味导致许多人绝望，治疗通常是经验性的和无效的，因为具体的原因通常不知道。阻碍口腔臭味治疗进展的基本问题是缺乏客观的方法来评估病情的严重性，识别特定的病因，并测量治疗反应。 一种新的解决方案：采用气相色谱和质谱仪(GC/MS)的先进的新呼气测试可以检测到呼气中低浓度的挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)。这种呼气测试可以确定导致口腔异味的VOCs，并确定治疗是否降低了它们的浓度。 解决这一问题的实验计划：口腔恶臭的攻击性强度将由两组人类志愿者的有机嗅觉小组评定：有口腔恶臭的受试者和没有口腔恶臭的对照组受试者。此外，所有受试者的呼气样本将通过GC/MS进行分析，以确定与口腔异味有关的VOCs。 这项研究的短期目标是将训练有素和经过校准的气味评判员的主观评估与呼气测试的客观结果相关联，以确定导致口腔异味的VOCs的化学成分。这项研究的长期目标是：1)诊断-将口腔异味(如舌背细菌腐烂)的特定原因与他们的呼吸VOC特征联系起来；2)治疗-通过测量呼吸VOC特征的浓度降低来确定治疗口腔异味的有效性；3)技术-开发一种可用于牙科和医疗实践中的口腔异味评估和治疗的便携式GC/MS仪器。

DESCRIPTION: The problem: Oral malodor causes much despair, and treatment is frequently empirical and ineffective because the specific cause is not usually known. The basic problem that has retarded progress in the treatment of oral malodor is the lack of an objective method for evaluating the severity of the condition, identifying the specific etiologies, and measuring response to treatment. A new solution to the problem: An advanced new breath test employing gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) can detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath. This breath test could identify the VOCs responsible for oral malodor, and determine whether treatment reduces their concentrations. Experimental plan to address the problem: The intensity of offensiveness of oral malodor will be rated by an organoleptic panel of human "sniffers" in two groups of human volunteers: subjects with oral malodor, and control subjects with no oral malodor. In addition, breath samples from all subjects will be analyzed by GC/MS, in order to identify the VOCs associated with oral malodor. The short-term Aim of the research is to correlate the subjective assessment by trained and calibrated odor judges with the objective results of a breath test, in order to identify the chemical composition of the VOCs responsible for oral malodor. The long-term Aims of the research are: 1) Diagnostic - to correlate specific causes of oral malodor (e.g. bacterial putrefaction on the dorsum of the tongue) with their breath VOC signature; 2) Therapeutic - to determine the effectiveness of treatments for oral malodor by measuring the reduction in the concentrations of breath VOC signatures; 3) Technological - to develop a mobile GC/MS instrument for breath analysis which could be employed in Dental and medical practices for the evaluation and treatment of oral malodor.