First Name:
Emily
Last Name:
Horsman
Major Department:
Biology and Chemistry
Thesis Director:
Barkley Sive
Date of Thesis:
May 2014
Breath analysis has recently become more prevalent as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for medicine. This is a result of new and innovative technologies making it easier to measure a large array of compounds present in exhaled human breath. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can have adverse health effects, have been found to be present in human breath. Measuring the concentrations of these in a subject during both healthy and unhealthy states offers a diagnostic potential for evaluating health and well-being. Exhaled breath samples and ambient air samples were collected simultaneously everyday for 30 days and periodically over an additional 30 day period. The change in concentrations of methanol, ethanol, DMS, toluene, benzene, α-pinene, β-pinene, d-limonene, ethane and n-pentane in exhaled human breath and the associated changes that occurred over the course of two months are discussed. The results of this study indicate that certain gases evaluated may be useful as diagnostic markers of a subject's health.