Abstract
Every human body is a source of a unique scent, which can be used for medical or forensic purposes. Human skin scent is a complex mixture of more or less volatile compounds with different chemical and physical properties, which often differ significantly in their concentrations. The most efficient technique for separating such complex samples is comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC). This work aimed to find the optimal arrangement of a two-dimensional chromatographic system and define a suitable chromatographic method for non-targeted analysis of human scent samples. Four different chromatographic columns (non-polar Rxi-5MS and TG-5HT, medium polar Rxi-17Sil MS and Rtx-200MS) and their different configurations were tested. The best system was the 30 m primary column Rtx-200MS (with the 2 m pre-column Rtx-200MS) and the 1 m secondary column TG-5HT in a reverse configuration. This system achieved the highest theoretical and conditional peak capacities, optimal resolution, and the lowest number of coelutions.
Highlights
The human scent and its molecular profile are one of the major topics of current forensic interest
Concerning human scent, a number of publications [9,10] focus mainly on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are largely contained in human skin scent and which can be found in all body fluids and excrement: in breath, saliva, blood, milk, urine, feces, and skin secretions
The second Rxi-17Sil MS column with a (50%-phenyl)-methylpolysiloxane phase is characterized by medium polarity and higher selectivity to aromatic substances and is usually recommended for environmental analyses
Summary
The human scent and its molecular profile are one of the major topics of current forensic interest. In addition to forensic practice, monitoring changes in the molecular profile of an individual would be of great importance for the evaluation of physical or mental conditions in biometric and medical applications [6,7,8]. The human skin scent contains several thousand different compounds, e.g., acids, alcohols, aldehydes, amides, amines, esters, hydrocarbons, ketones, heterocyclic compounds, fatty acids, and fatty acid esters. These compounds, in addition, can vary in concentrations by several orders of magnitude [12]. The qualitative and quantitative variability of the human scent is influenced by many circumstances, e.g., by the sampling condition and sampled body parts, age, sex, heredity, diet, drugs, mood and emotions, cosmetics, and environmental factors [14,15]
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