Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this work was to confirm the existence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) specifically released or consumed by lung cancer cells.Methods50 million cells of the human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line CALU-1 were incubated in a sealed fermenter for 4 h or over night (18 hours). Then air samples from the headspace of the culture vessel were collected and preconcentrated by adsorption on solid sorbents with subsequent thermodesorption and analysis by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Identification of altogether 60 compounds in GCMS measurement was done not only by spectral library match, but also by determination of retention times established with calibration mixtures of the respective pure compounds.ResultsThe results showed a significant increase in the concentrations of 2,3,3-trimethylpentane, 2,3,5-trimethylhexane, 2,4-dimethylheptane and 4-methyloctane in the headspace of CALU-1 cell culture as compared to medium controls after 18 h. Decreased concentrations after 18 h of incubation were found for acetaldehyde, 3-methylbutanal, butyl acetate, acetonitrile, acrolein, methacrolein, 2-methylpropanal, 2-butanone, 2-methoxy-2-methylpropane, 2-ethoxy-2-methylpropane, and hexanal.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that certain volatile compounds can be cancer-cell derived and thus indicative of the presence of a tumor, whereas other compounds are not released but seem to be consumed by CALU-1 cells.
Highlights
The aim of this work was to confirm the existence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released or consumed by lung cancer cells
Our findings demonstrate that certain volatile compounds can be cancer-cell derived and indicative of the presence of a tumor, whereas other compounds are not released but seem to be consumed by CALU-1 cells
Identification and quantification of VOCs released by CALU-1 cells Viability after incubation of 50 millions of cells for 4 hours was 98.6 ± 1.1% and after incubation for 18 h 98.7 ± 0.7%
Summary
The aim of this work was to confirm the existence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released or consumed by lung cancer cells. Analysis of exhaled breath for recognition of human diseases offers the possibility of non-invasive diagnosis [1,2,3,4]. This is interesting for critically ill persons [5], as well as for large scale screening, in the case of renal and liver diseases [6,7,8,9,10] or for cancer [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Compounds like 2,2-diethyl-1,1-biphenyl or 2-methyl-1(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-methyl-1,3-propanediyl propanoic acid ester have been detected [11], which are potentially interesting but whose underlying biochemistry is completely unknown
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
