Exhaled volatile organic compounds for diagnosis and monitoring of asthma

Figure 2 Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the separation and identification of organic molecules, respectively: The gas serves as a medium for transporting the molecules present in the exhaled breath, which undergo absorption and desorption phenomena (Stationary Phase), passing sequentially along the transfer line. Here, the molecules are ionized and accelerated by electric fields. This allows for further separation and detection. Through data analysis, the detected molecules will appear as peaks, representing their relative abundance over the detection time. T: Temperature; TOF: Time of flight.