Identifying organic compounds in exhaled breath aerosol: Non-invasive sampling from respirator surfaces and disposable hospital masks.

ABSTRACT: Exhaled breath aerosol (EBA) is an important non-invasive biological medium for detecting exogenous environmental contaminants and endogenous metabolites present in the pulmonary tract. Currently, EBA is typically captured as a constituent of the mainstream clinical tool referred to as exhaled breath condensate (EBC). This article describes a simpler, completely non-invasive method for collecting EBA directly from different forms of hard-surface plastic respirator masks and disposable hospital paper breathing masks without first collecting EBC. The new EBA methodology bypasses the complex EBC procedures that require specialized collection gear, dry ice or other coolant, in-field sample processing, and refrigerated transport to the laboratory. Herein, mask samples collected from different t

SUBMITTER: Geer Wallace MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8193830 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature