Real-time breath ammonia measurement using a novel cuprous bromide sensor device in patients with chronic liver disease: a feasibility and pilot study

Abstract

We developed a small portable sensor device using a p-type semiconductor cuprous bromide (CuBr) thin film to measure breath ammonia in real time with highsensitivity and selectivity. Breath ammonia is reportedly associated with chronic liver disease (CLD). We aimed to assess the practical utility of the novel CuBr sensor device for exhaled breath ammonia and the correlation between breath and blood ammonia in CLD patients. This was a feasibility and pilot clinical study of 21 CLD patients and 18 healthy volunteers. Breath ammonia was directly and quickly measured using the novel CuBr sensor device and compared with blood ammonia measured at the same time. CLD patients had significantly higher breath ammonia levels than healthy subjects (p = 1.51 × 10−3), with the level of significance being similar to that for blood ammonia levels (p= 0.024). Significant differences were found in breath and blood ammonia between the healthy and cirrhosis groups (p = 2.97 × 10−3 and 3.76 × 10−3, respectively). Significant, positive correlations between breath and blood ammonia were noted in the CLD group (R = 0.747, p = 1.00 × 10−4), healthy/CLD group (R = 0.741, p = 6.75 × 10−8), and cirrhosis group (R = 0.744, p = 9.52 × 10−4). In conclusion, the newly developed, easy-to-use, and small portable CuBr sensor device was able to non-invasively measure breath ammonia in real time. Breath ammonia measured using the device was correlated with blood ammonia and the presence of liver cirrhosis, and might be an alternative surrogate biomarker to blood ammonia.

Real-Time Monitoring of Air Pollution Health Impacts Using Breath-Borne Gaseous Biomarkers from Rats

“…Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) in mammals is an endogenous signaling molecule involved in physiological processes including cardioprotection, vasorelaxation, neurotransmission, and inflammatory response. − In pulmonary vessels, a regulatory mechanism exists for the interaction of H 2 S with NO and CO . Ammonia (NH 3 ) is essential in urea and amino acid metabolism in the body, and its presence in exhaled breath has been investigated as a biomarker for liver and kidney diseases. ,, Oxygen (O 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) are closely related to various pathways of substance and energy metabolism. , Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a relatively stable reactive oxygen metabolite associated with inflammation and oxidative stress . Based on these studies, the use of gaseous biomarkers from exhaled breath of rats including VOCs and inorganic gaseous compounds may provide an excellent proxy for real-time monitoring of air pollution health impacts.…”

Room-Temperature Ammonia Gas Sensor Based on Ti3C2Tx MXene/Graphene Oxide/CuO/ZnO Nanocomposite

“…Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature leading to harmful effects on health and the environment . Among various VOCs, ammonia (NH 3 ) is one of the most popular VOCs that can be found in many household and industrial cleaners, production of chemicals, refrigeration system, agriculture, fertilizer, etc. , Recently, NH 3 can be considered as a significant biomarker by means of analysis via exhaled breath for disease diagnosis such as chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, and peptic ulcer symptoms. − Moreover, NH 3 is also used as a quality indicator in food such as for fish freshness, meat freshness, and marine freshness. − Therefore, the detection of NH 3 at room temperature is of great importance to apply in many fields. Although an electrochemical-based NH 3 gas sensor is available in market and owns high selectivity, the development of a resistive-based NH 3 gas sensor is still ongoing because the resistive-based type of gas sensor provides wide-range detection, simple operation, small size, low power consumption, low-cost production, fast recovery time, and high sensitivity.…”

Breath-by-breath measurement of exhaled ammonia by acetone-modifier positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry via online dilution and purging sampling

“…When NH 3 generation and removal are imbalanced, the concentration of exhaled NH 3 changes. Thus, it is of great clinical value to detect exhaled NH 3 to determine disease status such as in cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy [ 4 , 8 ], chronic kidney failure, renal hemodialysis [ 5 , 9 , 10 ], Helicobacter pylori infection [ 11 , 12 ], and halitosis [ 13 , 14 ].…”