Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic profiling and chemometric interpretation of the volatile profiles of sweat in knit fabrics

Abstract

Human axillary sweat is a poorly explored biofluid within the context of metabolomics when compared to other fluids such as blood and urine. In this paper, we explore the volatile organic compounds emitted from two different types of fabric samples (cotton and polyester) which had been worn repeatedly during exercise by participants. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS) were employed to profile the (semi)volatile compounds on the fabric. Principal component analysis models were applied to the data to aid in visualizing differences between types of fabrics, wash treatment, and the gender of the subject who had worn the fabric. Statistical tools included with commercial chromatography software (ChromaTOF) and a simple Fisher ratio threshold-based feature selection for model optimization are compared with a custom-written algorithm that uses cluster resolution as an objective function to maximize in a hybrid backward-elimination forward-selection approach for optimizing the chemometric models in an effort to identify some compounds that correlate to differences between fabric types. The custom algorithm is shown to generate better models than the simple Fisher ratio approach. Graphical Abstract A route from samples and questions to data and then answers.

Synthetic Clothing and the Problem With Odor

“…McQueen et al (2014) found higher concentrations of carboxylic acids in the headspace above polyester fabric when compared to cotton fabric after wear. In subsequent analysis of the same fabrics, de la Mata, McQueen, Nam, and Harynuk (2017) were able to distinguish between cotton and polyester fabrics based on their selective sorption of semivolatile compounds. In a study on the profiles of volatiles released in the headspace from four different fabrics (cotton, polyester, wool, and rayon), Prada, Curran, and Furton (2011) noted that the different fabrics selectively retained and released compounds based on various chemical classes.…”

Odor in textiles: A review of evaluation methods, fabric characteristics, and odor control technologies

“…7,25 Bisymmetrical T-shirts with a different fabric on each side of the body have been used when multiple wear and wash cycles were needed for odor to develop over time. 26,27 Sweat (predominantly eccrine) was obtained by sewing fabrics to gym mats during circuit training where multiple participants contributed to overall odor. 28 Collection of axillary and upper body sweat was obtained from sampling the whole T-shirt worn by participants after one hour of bicycling spinning exercise.…”

“…Volatiles extracted from cotton and polyester fabrics using SPME were analyzed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). 26,27 Two-dimensionality overcomes the problem of peak overlap that can occur in one-dimensional chromatograms of complex mixtures. 73 Between 1000 to 2000 individual compounds were detected, and through advanced chemometric analyses, fabric samples could be clustered by their chemical profile with differentiation between unwashed/washed fabrics, fiber type, and gender of participant.…”

“…73 Between 1000 to 2000 individual compounds were detected, and through advanced chemometric analyses, fabric samples could be clustered by their chemical profile with differentiation between unwashed/washed fabrics, fiber type, and gender of participant. 27 Although, not all volatiles would have been odorous.…”

The Blossoming of Technology for the Analysis of Complex Aroma Bouquets—A Review on Flavour and Odorant Multidimensional and Comprehensive Gas Chromatography Applications

“…Carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols were the classes selected, through application of chemometric algorithms, to distinguish between cotton and polyester textiles. Moreover, aldehydes, alcohols and some aromatics were the most representative to discriminate the sex of the user [143].…”