A matrix-centered view of mass spectrometry platform innovation for volatilome research

Andras Szeitz; Annika G Sutton; Steven J Hallam

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2024.1421330

A matrix-centered view of mass spectrometry platform innovation for volatilome research

Front Mol Biosci. 2024 Oct 30:11:1421330. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1421330. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Andras Szeitz^{1

2

3}, Annika G Sutton⁴, Steven J Hallam^{1

2

3

5

6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Genome Science and Technology Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
³ Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁴ School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁵ Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁷ Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining (BRIMM), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁸ ECOSCOPE Training Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon-containing molecules with high vapor pressure and low water solubility that are released from biotic and abiotic matrices. Because they are in the gaseous phase, these compounds tend to remain undetected when using conventional metabolomic profiling methods. Despite this omission, efforts to profile VOCs can provide useful information related to metabolic status and identify potential signaling pathways or toxicological impacts in natural or engineered environments. Over the past several decades mass spectrometry (MS) platform innovation has instigated new opportunities for VOC detection from previously intractable matrices. In parallel, volatilome research linking VOC profiles to other forms of multi-omic information (DNA, RNA, protein, and other metabolites) has gained prominence in resolving genotype/phenotype relationships at different levels of biological organization. This review explores both on-line and off-line methods used in VOC profiling with MS from different matrices. On-line methods involve direct sample injection into the MS platform without any prior compound separation, while off-line methods involve chromatographic separation prior to sample injection and analyte detection. Attention is given to the technical evolution of platforms needed for increasingly resolved VOC profiles, tracing technical progress over time with particular emphasis on emerging microbiome and diagnostic applications.

Keywords: comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography; high resolution multi-reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometry; ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry; proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry; secondary electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry; selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry; time-of-flight mass spectrometry; volatile organic compounds.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was performed under the auspices of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, Genome British Columbia, the Terry Fox New Frontiers Program, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).