Short-Term Effect of Cigarette Smoke on Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds Profile Analyzed by an Electronic Nose
Silvano Dragonieri, Vitaliano Nicola Quaranta, Enrico Buonamico, Claudia Battisti, Teresa Ranieri, Pierluigi Carratù, Giovanna Elisiana Carpagnano
Abstract
Breath analysis using an electronic nose (e-nose) is an innovative tool for exhaled volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis, which has shown potential in several respiratory and systemic diseases. It is still unclear whether cigarette smoking can be considered a confounder when analyzing the VOC-profile. We aimed to assess whether an e-nose can discriminate exhaled breath before and after smoking at different time periods. We enrolled 24 healthy smokers and collected their exhaled breath as follows: (a) before smoking, (b) within 5 min after smoking, (c) within 30 min after smoking, and (d) within 60 min after smoking. Exhaled breath was collected by a previously validated method and analyzed by an e-nose (Cyranose 320). By principal component analysis, significant variations in the exhaled VOC profile were shown for principal component 1 and 2 before and after smoking. Significance was higher 30 and 60 min after smoking than 5 min after (p < 0.01 and <0.05, respectively). Canonical discriminant analysis confirmed the above findings (cross-validated values: baseline vs. 5 min = 64.6%, AUC = 0.833; baseline vs. 30 min = 83.6%, AUC = 0.927; baseline vs. 60 min = 89.6%, AUC = 0.933). Thus, the exhaled VOC profile is influenced by very recent smoking. Interestingly, the effect seems to be more closely linked to post-cigarette inflammation than the tobacco-related odorants.