Volatile Biomarkers in Exhaled Breath for In Vivo Lipid Peroxidation and Ferroptosis Detection

Human breath volatile metabolites have attracted increasing attention as a source of non-invasive biomarkers. However, the biosynthetic pathways of most breath-borne compounds remain unclear, and their relationships to physiological or pathological states are still poorly defined, which has greatly hindered the clini cal application of breath biomarkers.Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent process driven by lipid peroxidation that exacerbates tissue inflammation and has been implicated in a wide range of age-associated disorders. Importantly, some oxidized lipids generated during ferroptosis are volatile and can be released in exhaled breath. Based on this principle, we have developed a non-invasive strategy for detecting deep-tissue ferroptosis using exhaled volatile oxidized lipids as biomarkers and are advancing this approach toward clinical application. In this review, we will highlight the development of breath markers associated with ferroptosis and discuss the broader potential of breath-based technologies for monitoring disease-related metabolism.