Xu Jian-Jun, Lou Chao-Yan, Zhuo Yan-Hong, Zhu Yan
Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Key Laboratory of Health Risk Assessment Technology for Trace Toxic Chemicals of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310028, China.
College of Quality and Standardization, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Se Pu. 2025 Mar;43(3):245-251. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1123.2024.06011.
A novel noninasive method was developed for determining glucose levels in human exhaled breath and saliva using ion chromatography. This innovative approach involves collecting exhaled breath and saliva samples using a self-designed condensation device and non-stimulative method to ensure minimal participant discomfort. The glucose contents in both exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and saliva were analyzed using ion chromatography, which is highly sensitive and specific. The experimental conditions were optimized, including a condensation temperature of -14 ℃ and an expiratory flow of 15 L/min. A Dionex CarboPac MA1 ion chromatography column (250 mm×4 mm) was used to separate glucose, with the column temperature maintained at 30 ℃. Sodium hydroxide solution (0.8 mol/L) with a pump flow rate of 0.4 mL/min was used as the mobile phase for ion chromatography. Under these conditions, glucose exhibited a good linear relationship in the range of 0.01-20 mg/L, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999, along with limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of 2.1 and 7.0 μg/L, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions of glucose content in exhaled breath and saliva samples of ≤7.5% (=5) and ≤8.4% (=5), respectively. The results reveal that the glucose levels in exhaled breath and saliva are strongly correlated with blood glucose levels. The method was validated by measuring the glucose contents of exhaled breath and saliva from six diabetic patients and six healthy subjects. Little variation in the glucose contents of the exhaled breath of the two groups was observed under fasting states. However, the exhaled breath of the diabetic patients exhibited significantly higher (by factors of 6-80) glucose contents (48.4-140.0 ng/L) than those of healthy subjects (1.7-7.9 ng/L) 1 h after glucose ingestion. Saliva samples from fasting diabetic patients contained 1.2-5.0-times more glucose contents (87.6-158 mg/L) than those of healthy subjects (31.6-70.9 mg/L). In addition, the saliva of the diabetic patients exhibited glucose contents (136-257 mg/L) that were 1.8-7.7-times higher than those of the healthy subjects (33.1-75.2 mg/L) 2 h after glucose ingestion. The developed method provides a simple, precise, and non-invasive means of detecting glucose contents in a manner that does not harm the human body; hence, it is a promising non-invasive metabolic-monitoring tool. This study opens new avenues for the development of innovative technologies for monitoring glucose and other biomarkers, which is expected to greatly enhance metabolic-study accuracy and ease, particularly in the context of managing diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
开发了一种新颖的非侵入性方法，用于使用离子色谱法测定人体呼出气体和唾液中的葡萄糖水平。这种创新方法涉及使用自行设计的冷凝装置和非刺激方法收集呼出气体和唾液样本，以确保参与者的不适感降至最低。使用高度灵敏且特异的离子色谱法分析呼出气体冷凝物（EBC）和唾液中的葡萄糖含量。对实验条件进行了优化，包括冷凝温度为-14℃，呼气流量为15L/min。使用Dionex CarboPac MA1离子色谱柱（250mm×4mm）分离葡萄糖，柱温保持在30℃。以0.4mL/min的泵流速使用0.8mol/L的氢氧化钠溶液作为离子色谱的流动相。在这些条件下，葡萄糖在0.01-20mg/L范围内呈现良好的线性关系，相关系数为0.9999，检测限（LOD）和定量限（LOQ）分别为2.1和7.0μg/L。呼出气体和唾液样本中葡萄糖含量的日内和日间精密度分别≤7.5%（n=5）和≤8.4%（n=5）。结果表明，呼出气体和唾液中的葡萄糖水平与血糖水平密切相关。通过测量6名糖尿病患者和6名健康受试者的呼出气体和唾液中的葡萄糖含量对该方法进行了验证。在禁食状态下，两组呼出气体中的葡萄糖含量几乎没有变化。然而，糖尿病患者在摄入葡萄糖1小时后的呼出气体中葡萄糖含量（48.4-140.0ng/L）比健康受试者（1.7-7.9ng/L）显著高（6-80倍）。禁食糖尿病患者的唾液样本中葡萄糖含量（87.6-158mg/L）比健康受试者（31.6-70.9mg/L）多1.2-5.0倍。此外，糖尿病患者在摄入葡萄糖2小时后的唾液中葡萄糖含量（136-257mg/L）比健康受试者（33.1-75.2mg/L）高1.8-7.7倍。所开发的方法提供了一种简单、精确且非侵入性的检测葡萄糖含量的方法，不会对人体造成伤害；因此，它是一种有前途的非侵入性代谢监测工具。本研究为开发用于监测葡萄糖和其他生物标志物的创新技术开辟了新途径，有望大大提高代谢研究的准确性和便利性，特别是在管理糖尿病和其他代谢紊乱方面。
