Ion mobility spectrometry for pharmacokinetic studies--exemplary application

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacokinetics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Breath analysis is a non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool using endogenous compounds.
• Portable, rapid detection of volatile compounds is crucial for clinical utility.
• Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) coupled with multi-capillary columns (MCC) is a promising technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the suitability of breath analysis for pharmacokinetic applications.
• To assess the practicability and reproducibility of MCC-IMS for analyzing volatile compounds.
• To validate MCC-IMS measurements against a reference technique.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multi-capillary column ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS) for breath analysis.
• Employed eucalyptol as a model substrate to test pharmacokinetic applications.
• Validated MCC-IMS results using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS).

Main Results:

• MCC-IMS demonstrated excellent correspondence with PTR-MS for time-dependent concentration measurements.
• The method showed good accordance in variance of kinetic parameters with repeated measures.
• Significant inter-subject differences were identified, indicating method eligibility.

Conclusions:

• MCC-IMS is a suitable and reproducible method for pharmacokinetic breath analysis.
• The technique's accuracy and practicability support its use in clinical settings.
• Breath analysis via MCC-IMS shows eligibility for therapeutic monitoring and diagnosis.