The human skin volatolome: a systematic review of untargeted mass spectrometry analysis
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can provide important clinical information (entirely non-invasively); however, the exact extent to which VOCs from human skin can be signatures of health and disease is unknown. This systematic review summarises the published literature concerning the methodology, application, and volatile profiles of skin VOC studies. An online literature search was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis, to identify human skin VOC studies using untargeted mass spectrometry (MS) methods. The principal outcome was chemically verified VOCs detected from the skin. Each VOC was cross-referenced using the CAS number against the Human Metabolome and KEGG databases to evaluate biological origins. A total of 29 studies identified 822 skin VOCs from 935 participants. Skin VOCs were commonly sampled from the hand (n = 9) or forearm (n = 7) using an absorbent patch (n = 15) with analysis by gas chromatography MS (n = 23). Twenty-two studies profiled the skin VOCs of healthy subjects, demonstrating a volatolome consisting of aldehydes (18%), carboxylic acids (12%), alkanes (12%), fatty alcohols (9%), ketones (7%), benzenes and derivatives (6%), alkenes (2%), and menthane monoterpenoids (2%). Of the VOCs identified, 13% had putative endogenous origins, 46% had tentative exogenous origins, and 40% were metabolites from mixed metabolic pathways. This review has comprehensively profiled the human skin volatolome, demonstrating the presence of a distinct VOC signature of healthy skin, which can be used as a reference for future researchers seeking to unlock the clinical potential of skin volatolomics. As significant proportions of identified VOCs have putative exogenous origins, strategies to minimise their presence through methodological refinements and identifying confounding compounds are discussed.
Date Issued
2022-09-01
Date Acceptance
2022-08-28
Citation
Metabolites, 2022, 12 (9), pp.1-18
ISSN
2218-1989
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
18
Journal / Book Title
Metabolites
Volume
12
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2022 by the authors. Li‐
censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and con‐
ditions of the Creative Commons At‐
tribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and con‐
ditions of the Creative Commons At‐
tribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://mdpi.com/2218-1989/12/9/824
Subjects
0301 Analytical Chemistry
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
1103 Clinical Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-09-01