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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Capturing Actively Produced Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds from Human-Associated Samples with Vacuum-Assisted Sorbent Extraction
Published on: June 1, 2022
Rapid discrimination of fungal strains isolated from human skin based on microbial volatile organic profiles
Joao Raul Belinato1, Evandro Silva1, Daiane Silva de Souza1
1Department of Chemistry, State University of Maringá (UEM), Ave. Colombo 5790, Maringá, PR 87020-900, Brazil.
Abstract:
Studies of the microbiota of human skin have gained attention mainly because of its high complexity. Volatile metabolites that emerge from the microbiota play a significant role in fungus metabolism, acting on fungal development, defense, and protection against stress, communication, and pathogenicity. The present study evaluated volatile organic profiles, based on headspace-solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We sought to define the optimal experimental conditions for such identification. Chromatograms from 15 fungi were evaluated and discriminated by principal component analysis. The volatile metabolite profiles that were putatively identified in the present study (e.g 2‑isopropyl‑5‑methyl‑cyclohex‑3‑en‑1‑one, 3/2‑methyl‑1‑butanol, isopentyl ethanoate, phenyl ethanol) allowed the discrimination of different microorganisms from human skin. The present methodology may be a more rapid way of identifying microorganisms compared with conventional methods of microbiological identification.
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