The Characterization of a Standard Breath Sampling Device for Off-Line TD-GC-MS Analysis (Briefing)

Due to several sources of potential variability associated with exhaled breath bag sampling procedures for off-line analysis, the Respiration Collector for In Vitro Analysis (ReCIVA) sampler was developed. Although designed to improve upon several pitfalls of sampling with exhaled breath bags, the ReCIVA remains a minimally studied research tool. In this manuscript, several attributes of the ReCIVA sampler are investigated, such as background contamination, performance of different adsorbent tubes, duplicate sample production, and comparison to exhaled breath bags. Initially, differences were observed in volatile organic compound (VOC) abundances due to flow rate variation between tube type, set point, and ReCIVA tube location. These effects were minimized when an unpublicized update was applied to the control software, however, tube types (Tenax TA and 5TD) still differed in VOC abundance, and Tenax TA VOC sampling was not reproducible between tube locations. The ReCIVA VOC abundances were similar to results obtained from exhaled breath bags, and siloxane contamination was reduced upon baking. Overall, the results suggest that ReCIVA is a feasible alternative to exhaled breath bags for application in breath research, but more research must be completed to develop methods and practical implementation approaches enabling human subjects studies.