via WebMD
Given current events, many people are wearing face masks to protect themselves and others. But that same face mask could someday also collect useful health information.
Researchers from University of Jinan reporting in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry have demonstrated that a fiber inserted into an ordinary N95 face mask can collect compounds in exhaled breath aerosols for analysis. The new method could allow screening for disease biomarkers on a large scale.
Exhaled breath is an aerosol that contains a variety of volatile and non-volatile compounds dissolved in microdroplets. Some of these molecules could provide important health information, such as whether a person has a certain disease, or how their body metabolizes medications they’re taking. Mass spectrometry is a sensitive technique that can help identify these compounds. But first, sufficient amounts of the molecules must be collected, which often requires tedious procedures such as breathing into a tube or bag. Bin Hu and colleagues wondered if they could find a way to use face masks, which many people are wearing anyway, to collect and concentrate compounds exhaled in breath for later mass spectrometry analysis.
To test their idea, the researchers clipped a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber inside an N95 face mask. SPME fibers have been used previously to extract compounds from breath collected by other methods. Volunteers performed many different activities, including eating a banana or garlic, smoking a cigarette or drinking a cup of coffee. Then, the volunteers wore the masks for 2 hours, and the researchers removed the SPME fibers and analyzed them by mass spectrometry. For each activity, the researchers detected specific compounds, even some that were present at trace amounts: for example, volatile sulfur compounds from eating garlic, nicotine from smoking and caffeine from drinking coffee. The researchers hope that the method will inspire biomarker studies for respiratory illnesses that require people to wear masks in everyday life.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Face mask diagnostics
- Amniocentesis Needle Market Size is Booming in Upcoming Years Due To Global Demand and Business Opportunities 2027
According to the report by Allied Market Research, titled, “Amniocentesis Needle Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, ...
- Coronavirus: Scrapping of face mask mandate under discussion
Members of the scientific team are expected in the next few days to submit recommendation regarding the use of face masks indoors and whether the measure against Covid-19 should be scrapped. Reports ...
- White House coronavirus advisor supports continued use of masks indoors
The White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha supports the continued use of masks while indoors as cases continue ... "Without that next generation of vaccines, without treatments and ...
- Dr. Jha urges Congress to fund 'new generation' of COVID vaccines for possible fall surge
Dr. Ashish Jha said without COVID-19 funding and new treatments and diagnostics, it will be much harder to protect Americans from variants.
- IVD Firms Developing COVID-19/Flu Combo Tests for Home Use, But Will They See Adoption?
A handful of firms have announced they are developing at-home combo kits that can detect and differentiate COVID-19, flu A, and B on current testing platforms.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Face mask diagnostics
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Breath diagnostics
- Chill Factor: How Lupus Patients Can Avoid the Anxiety of Cyberchondria
You’ve gone from doctor to doctor in search of a diagnosis that would explain your rash, joint pain, and fatigue, and now – finally – there’s a name for what ails you: systemic lupus erythematosus ...
- Why Are Asian Americans Invisible When It Comes To Eating Disorder Diagnosis And Treatment?
Today, Filipino beauty ideals are still Western-emulating and prize thinness, fair skin, and European features like a sharper nose, says Leilani Salvo Crane, PsyD, a psychologist in New York whose ...
- Marathon for Mom: Avon man becomes runner after mom's lung disease diagnosis
He was never a runner before, but wasn't about to take for granted how he could breathe with ease. "That's exactly what I thought ... about how grateful I am to have a set of great, working lungs, ...
- Laguna Beach, meditation and a deep breath: How Orioles star Trey Mancini reset after an ‘insane year’
After battling stage 3 colon cancer and returning to the major leagues, there was plenty for Orioles star Trey Mancini to unpack when the 2021 season ended. At his home in Laguna Beach, California, he ...
- Lung cancer - easy fingertip test which could lead to early diagnosis
Every year tens of thousands of people are diagnosed with lung cancer, which can spread more quickly than other forms of cancer. There are several common symptoms to look out for, such as shortness of ...