Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Real-time Breath Analysis by Using Secondary Nanoelectrospray Ionization Coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Published on: March 9, 2018
The electronic nose in respiratory medicine
Paolo Montuschi1, Nadia Mores, Andrea Trové
1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. pmontuschi@rm.unicatt.it
Abstract:
Several volatile organic compounds have been identified in exhaled breath in healthy subjects and patients with respiratory diseases by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Identification of selective patterns of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath could be used as a biomarker of inflammatory lung diseases. An electronic nose (e-nose) is an artificial sensor system that generally consists of an array of chemical sensors for detection of volatile organic compound profiles (breathprints) and an algorithm for pattern recognition. E-noses are handheld, portable devices that provide immediate results. E-noses discriminate between patients with respiratory disease, including asthma, COPD and lung cancer, and healthy control subjects, and also among patients with different respiratory diseases. E-nose breathprints are associated with airway inflammation activity. In combination with other 'omics' platforms, e-nose technology might contribute to the identification of new surrogate markers of pulmonary inflammation and subphenotypes of patients with respiratory diseases, provide a molecular basis to a personalized pharmacological treatment, and facilitate the development of new drugs.
Related Concept Videos
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure
The Respiratory System
Respiratory Assessment: Purpose and Indications
Objectives and Importance:
The primary goal of respiratory assessment is to evaluate patients at early risk of clinical deterioration. Since respiratory distress often precedes other signs of declining health, breathing patterns and sounds become a...
Microbiota of the Respiratory Tract
Respiratory System Abnormal Finding I: Inspection and Percussion
Inspection Findings
During an inspection, several findings may suggest the presence of respiratory distress or disease. Pursed-lip breathing, where exhalation is slowed by...
Nose and Nasal Cavity

