A method for the simultaneous determination of several classes of aldehydes in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) was developed using liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS). EBC is a biological matrix obtained by a relatively new, simple and noninvasive technique and provides an indirect assessment of pulmonary status. The measurement of aldehydes in EBC represents a biomarker of the effect of oxidative stress caused by smoke, disease, or strong oxidants like ozone. Malondialdehyde (MDA), acrolein, α,β-unsaturated hydroxylated aldehydes [namely 4-hydroxyhexenal (4-HHE) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE)], and saturated aldehydes (n-hexanal, n-heptanal and n-nonanal) were measured in EBC after derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of the analytes was obtained in positiveion mode for MDA, and in negativeion mode for acrolein, 4-HHE, 4-HNE, and saturated aldehydes. DNPH derivatives were separated on a C18 column using variable proportions of 20 mM aqueous acetic acid and methanol. Linearity was established over 4-5 orders of magnitude and limits of detection were in the 0.3-1.0 nM range. Intra-day and inter-day precision were in the 1.3-9.9% range for all the compounds. MDA, acrolein and n-alkanals were detectable in all EBC samples, whereas the highly reactive 4-HHE and 4-HNE were found in only a few samples. Statistically significant higher concentrations of MDA, acrolein and n-hexanal were found in EBC from smokers.Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributes to oxidation of cell macromolecules, e.g. lipids, DNA and proteins, leading to a variety of products 1 including alkanes, aldehydes, oxidated nucleotides and oxidated amino acids. Among the mechanisms of free radical damage, lipid peroxidation is probably the most extensively investigated process. ROS oxidation of cell membrane phospholipids produces chain reactions whose targets are the (poly)unsaturated fatty acids (P)UFA esterified in the sn-1 and sn-2 glyceride positions, and results in the formation of unstable lipid hydroperoxides and of secondary carbonyl compounds such as aldehydic products. Oxidative stress plays an important role in pathobiology of the lung due to its large exchange surface with oxygen and with environmental pollutants contaminating Among the products of lipid peroxidation, malondial-dehyde (MDA) is commonly used as a marker of oxidative stress. 3 It has been determined in several biological matrices 3 including plasma, 4-6 serum, 7 urine, 5 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, 7 expired breath condensate, 8 and tissues, 9 as well as in lipid-rich foods. 10 Its colorimetric determination after reaction with 2-thiobarbituric acid (the so-called TBARS assay) has been criticized because of the nonspecifi-city of the TBARS reaction. 11,12 Therefore, several analytical methods have proposed the use of chromatographic techniques coupled with sensitive detectors. 13,14 Besides MDA, some α,β-unsaturated aldeh...