HS–SPME–GC–MS Untargeted Analysis of Normal Rat Organs Ex Vivo: Differential VOC Discrimination and Fingerprint VOC Identification

Abstract

The investigation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human metabolites has been a topic of interest as it holds the potential for the development of non-invasive technologies to screen for organ lesions in vivo. However, it remains unclear whether VOCs differ among healthy organs. Consequently, a study was conducted to analyze VOCs in ex vivo organ tissues obtained from 16 Wistar rats, comprising 12 different organs. The VOCs released from each organ tissue were detected by the headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique. In the untargeted analysis of 147 chromatographic peaks, the differential volatiles of rat organs were explored based on the Mann–Whitney U test and fold change (FC > 2.0) compared with other organs. It was found that there were differential VOCs in seven organs. A discussion on the possible metabolic pathways and related biomarkers of organ differential VOCs was conducted. Based on the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve, we found that differential VOCs in the liver, cecum, spleen, and kidney can be used as the unique identification of the corresponding organ. In this study, differential VOCs of organs in rats were systematically reported for the first time. Profiles of VOCs produced by healthy organs can serve as a reference or baseline that may indicate the presence of disease or abnormalities in the organ’s function. Differential VOCs can be used as the fingerprint of organs, and future integration with metabolic research may contribute to the development of healthcare.

Distinguish Esophageal Cancer Cells through VOCs Induced by Methionine Regulation

“…The mass spectrometer operated with an electron impact energy of 70 eV, and the mass scanning range was 45–300 amu. MS conditions were consistent with our previous work . Perfluorotributamine, MASS grade perfluorotributamine (SynQuest Laboratories), was used as a corrective fluid to tune a mass spectrometer.…”

Controlling glycolysis to generate characteristic volatile organic compounds of lung cancer cells

“…S2 , S3 . Similar with our previous research, we selected an SPME fiber (65 μm PDMS/DVB) based on its ability to enrich VOCs and extraction efficiency 15 , 18 . Prior to each SPME procedure, the extracted fiber was subjected to a 30-min pre-treatment at the 200 °C injection port of GC–MS to eliminate potential residual substances that could interfere with subsequent analysis of cell volatiles.…”