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A literature survey of volatiles from human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome and its potential use in forensic science (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Ratcliffe, N., & Honeychurch, K. (2022). A literature survey of volatiles from human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome and its potential use in forensic science. In S. Urban, V. Skerikova, P. Pouzarova, & T. Uhlikova (Eds.), Book of abstracts of the First International workshop on Chemical Analysis of Human Scent for Forensic Purposes (29)

The measurement of volatile compounds, or indeed semi-volatile compounds from a crime scene, or from a person could have applications in forensics science, these volatiles could arise from the body or by being adorned e.g. by use of perfumes etc. Rec... Read More about A literature survey of volatiles from human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome and its potential use in forensic science.

Urinary Volatile Organic Compound Testing in Fast-Track Patients with Suspected Colorectal Cancer (2022)
Journal Article
Boulind, C. E., Gould, O., Costello, B. D. L., Allison, J., White, P., Ewings, P., …Francis, N. K. (2022). Urinary Volatile Organic Compound Testing in Fast-Track Patients with Suspected Colorectal Cancer. Cancers, 14(9), 2127. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14092127

Colorectal symptoms are common but only infrequently represent serious pathology, including colorectal cancer (CRC). A large number of invasive tests are presently performed for reassurance. We investigated the feasibility of urinary volatile organic... Read More about Urinary Volatile Organic Compound Testing in Fast-Track Patients with Suspected Colorectal Cancer.

Investigation of urinary volatile organic compounds as novel diagnostic and surveillance biomarkers of bladder cancer (2022)
Journal Article
Lett, L., George, M., Slater, R., De Lacy Costello, B., Ratcliffe, N., García-Fiñana, M., …Probert, C. (2022). Investigation of urinary volatile organic compounds as novel diagnostic and surveillance biomarkers of bladder cancer. British Journal of Cancer, 127(2), 329-336. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-022-01785-8

Background: The diagnosis and surveillance of urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) require cystoscopy. There is a need for biomarkers to reduce the frequency of cystoscopy in surveillance; urinary volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis could fulfil this... Read More about Investigation of urinary volatile organic compounds as novel diagnostic and surveillance biomarkers of bladder cancer.

Hyphenated mass spectrometry versus real‐time mass spectrometry techniques for the detection of volatile compounds from the human body (2021)
Journal Article
Gould, O., Drabińska, N., Ratcliffe, N., & de Lacy Costello, B. (2021). Hyphenated mass spectrometry versus real‐time mass spectrometry techniques for the detection of volatile compounds from the human body. Molecules, 26(23), Article 7185. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237185

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that can be used for various applications in a number of scientific areas including environmental, security, forensic science, space exploration, agri‐food, and numerous others. MS is also continuing... Read More about Hyphenated mass spectrometry versus real‐time mass spectrometry techniques for the detection of volatile compounds from the human body.

Application of a solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/metal oxide sensor system for detection of antibiotic susceptibility in urinary tract infection-causing Escherichia coli – A proof of principle study (2021)
Journal Article
Drabińska, N., Hewett, K., White, P., Avison, M., Persad, R., Ratcliffe, N., & de Lacy Costello, B. (2021). Application of a solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/metal oxide sensor system for detection of antibiotic susceptibility in urinary tract infection-causing Escherichia coli – A proof of principle study. Advances in Medical Sciences, 67(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advms.2021.09.001

Purpose: Antibiotic resistance is widespread throughout the world and represents a serious health concern. There is an urgent need for the development of novel tools for rapidly distinguishing antibiotic resistant bacteria from susceptible strains. P... Read More about Application of a solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/metal oxide sensor system for detection of antibiotic susceptibility in urinary tract infection-causing Escherichia coli – A proof of principle study.

A literature survey of all volatiles from healthy human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome (2021)
Journal Article
Drabińska, N., Flynn, C., Ratcliffe, N., Belluomo, I., Myridakis, A., Gould, O., …Costello, B. D. L. (2021). A literature survey of all volatiles from healthy human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome. Journal of Breath Research, 15(3), 034001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7163/abf1d0

This paper comprises an updated version of the 2014 review which reported 1846 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) identified from healthy humans. In total over 900 additional VOCs have been reported since the 2014 review and the VOCs from semen have b... Read More about A literature survey of all volatiles from healthy human breath and bodily fluids: The human volatilome.

Rare earth doped metal oxide sensor for the multimodal detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (2020)
Journal Article
Fois, M., Cox, T., Ratcliffe, N., & de Lacy Costello, B. (2021). Rare earth doped metal oxide sensor for the multimodal detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 330, Article 129264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2020.129264

Heated metal oxide sensors have been widely studied for their ability to give a reversible change in the electrical resistance following the interaction with a volatile compound. Another feature is their inherent cataluminescence (CTL) properties whe... Read More about Rare earth doped metal oxide sensor for the multimodal detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Towards the identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing urinary tract infections using volatile organic compounds analysis—a pilot study (2020)
Journal Article
Hewett, K., Drabinska, N., White, P., Avison, M., Persad, R., Ratcliffe, N., & de Lacy Costello, B. (2020). Towards the identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing urinary tract infections using volatile organic compounds analysis—a pilot study. Antibiotics, 9(11), 797. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110797

Antibiotic resistance is an unprecedented threat to modern medicine. The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from bacteria potentially offers a rapid way to determine antibiotic susceptibility in bacteria. This study aimed to find the optim... Read More about Towards the identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing urinary tract infections using volatile organic compounds analysis—a pilot study.

Breath analysis for detection of viral infection, the current position of the field (2020)
Journal Article
Gould, O., Ratcliffe, N., Król, E., & de Lacy Costello, B. (2020). Breath analysis for detection of viral infection, the current position of the field. Journal of Breath Research, 14(4), https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7163/ab9c32

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of rapid, cost effective, accurate, and non-invasive testing for viral infections. Volatile compounds (VCs) have been suggested for several decades as fulfilling these criteria. However currently v... Read More about Breath analysis for detection of viral infection, the current position of the field.

Sensors for determining volatile compounds based on electrical conductivity and cataluminescence measurements of metal oxide films (2019)
Patent
Cox, T., Kiely, J., Ratcliffe, N., deLacy Costello, B., & Luxton, R. (2019). Sensors for determining volatile compounds based on electrical conductivity and cataluminescence measurements of metal oxide films

The invention relates to the field of sensors for detecting volatile compounds. The sensor of the present invention for detecting volatile compounds comprises: a film of metal oxide; a heater configured to provide heat energy to the film of metal oxi... Read More about Sensors for determining volatile compounds based on electrical conductivity and cataluminescence measurements of metal oxide films.

From fast identification to resistance testing: Volatile compound profiling as a novel diagnostic tool for detection of antibiotic susceptibility (2019)
Journal Article
Smart, A., de Lacy Costello, B., Ratcliffe, N., Drabinksa, N., & Hewett, K. (2019). From fast identification to resistance testing: Volatile compound profiling as a novel diagnostic tool for detection of antibiotic susceptibility. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 115, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2019.03.019

Widespread use of antibiotics has led to the development of antibiotic resistance in many pathogenic bacteria. If effective methods of alleviating this crisis are not applied, a return to high mortality and morbidity of the pre-antibiotic era could o... Read More about From fast identification to resistance testing: Volatile compound profiling as a novel diagnostic tool for detection of antibiotic susceptibility.

Sniffing out resistance – Rapid identification of urinary tract infection-causing bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility using volatile metabolite profiles (2019)
Journal Article
Smart, A., de Lacy Costello, B., White, P., Avison, M., Batty, C., Turner, C., …Ratcliffe, N. (2019). Sniffing out resistance – Rapid identification of urinary tract infection-causing bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility using volatile metabolite profiles. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 167, 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2019.01.044

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Antibiotic resistance is set to be an unprecedented threat to modern medicine. ‘Sniffing’ bacteria potentially offers a rapid way to determine susceptibility. A successful proof-of-principle study is described, using thermal deso... Read More about Sniffing out resistance – Rapid identification of urinary tract infection-causing bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility using volatile metabolite profiles.

Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) quantification of metabolites in stool using13 C labelled compounds (2018)
Journal Article
Gould, O., Costello, B. D. L., Smart, A., Jones, P., Macmaster, A., Ransley, K., & Ratcliffe, N. (2018). Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) quantification of metabolites in stool using13 C labelled compounds. Metabolites, 8(4), 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo8040075

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. It has become increasingly important to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the volatile metabolites in a range of bodily fluids for use in monitoring health. There has been relatively lit... Read More about Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) quantification of metabolites in stool using13 C labelled compounds.

Assessment of a combined gas chromatography mass spectrometer sensor system for detecting biologically relevant volatile compounds (2017)
Journal Article
Gould, O., Ratcliffe, N. M., De Lacy Costello, B., Wieczorek, T., & Persad, R. (2018). Assessment of a combined gas chromatography mass spectrometer sensor system for detecting biologically relevant volatile compounds. Journal of Breath Research, 12(1), 016009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7163/aa8efe

© 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd. There have been a number of studies in which metal oxide sensors (MOS) have replaced conventional analytical detectors in gas chromatography systems. However, despite the use of these instruments in a range of applications... Read More about Assessment of a combined gas chromatography mass spectrometer sensor system for detecting biologically relevant volatile compounds.

Irritable bowel syndrome and active inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed by faecal gas analysis (2016)
Journal Article
Aggio, R. B., White, P., Jayasena, H., de Lacy Costello, B., Ratcliffe, N. M., & Probert, C. S. (2017). Irritable bowel syndrome and active inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed by faecal gas analysis. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 45(1), 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.13822

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Background: Inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome may present in a similar manner. Measuring faecal calprotectin concentration is often recommended to rule out inflammatory bowel disease, however, ther... Read More about Irritable bowel syndrome and active inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed by faecal gas analysis.

The hydrolysis of geminal ethers: A kinetic appraisal of orthoesters and ketals (2016)
Journal Article
Lam, J. K., Repetto, S. L., Repetto, S., Costello, J. F., Butts, C. P., Lam, J. K. W., & Ratcliffe, N. M. (2016). The hydrolysis of geminal ethers: A kinetic appraisal of orthoesters and ketals. Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, 12, 1467-1475. https://doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.12.143

© 2016 Repetto et al. A novel approach to protecting jet fuel against the effects of water contamination is predicated upon the coupling of the rapid hydrolysis reactions of lipophilic cyclic geminal ethers, with the concomitant production of a hydro... Read More about The hydrolysis of geminal ethers: A kinetic appraisal of orthoesters and ketals.

A review of the volatiles from the healthy human body (2014)
Journal Article
Ratcliffe, N. M., Al-Kateb, H., De Lacy Costello, B., de Lacy Costello, B., Amann, A., Al-Kateb, H., …Ratcliffe, N. M. (2014). A review of the volatiles from the healthy human body. Journal of Breath Research, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7155/8/1/014001

A compendium of all the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emanating from the human body (the volatolome) is for the first time reported. 1840 VOCs have been assigned from breath (872), saliva (359), blood (154), milk (256), skin secretions (532) urin... Read More about A review of the volatiles from the healthy human body.

The use of a gas chromatograph coupled to a metal oxide sensor for rapid assessment of stool samples from irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease patients (2014)
Journal Article
Vaughan, K., Shepherd, S. F., McGuire, N. D., de Lacy Costello, B., Ewen, R. J., Jayasena, D. H., …Ratcliffe, N. M. (2014). The use of a gas chromatograph coupled to a metal oxide sensor for rapid assessment of stool samples from irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease patients. Journal of Breath Research, 8(2), https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7155/8/2/026001

There is much clinical interest in the development of a low-cost and reliable test for diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), two very distinct diseases that can present with similar symptoms. The assessment o... Read More about The use of a gas chromatograph coupled to a metal oxide sensor for rapid assessment of stool samples from irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Towards point of care testing for C. difficile infection by volatile profiling, using the combination of a short multi-capillary gas chromatography column with metal oxide sensor detection (2014)
Journal Article
Vaughan, K., Probert, C. S., Garner, C. E., McGuire, N. D., Ewen, R. J., de Lacy Costello, B., & Ratcliffe, N. M. (2014). Towards point of care testing for C. difficile infection by volatile profiling, using the combination of a short multi-capillary gas chromatography column with metal oxide sensor detection. Measurement Science and Technology, 25(6), https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/25/6/065108

Rapid volatile profiling of stool sample headspace was achieved using a combination of short multi-capillary chromatography column (SMCC), highly sensitive heated metal oxide semiconductor sensor and artificial neural network software. For direct ana... Read More about Towards point of care testing for C. difficile infection by volatile profiling, using the combination of a short multi-capillary gas chromatography column with metal oxide sensor detection.

An investigation of volatile organic compounds from the saliva of healthy individuals using headspace-trap/GC-MS (2013)
Journal Article
Ratcliffe, N., De Lacy Costello, B., Al-Kateb, H., de Lacy Costello, B., & Ratcliffe, N. M. (2013). An investigation of volatile organic compounds from the saliva of healthy individuals using headspace-trap/GC-MS. Journal of Breath Research, 7(3), https://doi.org/10.1088/1752-7155/7/3/036004

Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from saliva, to aid disease diagnoses, has received little attention. This work aims to address the paucity of information on saliva volatiles and includes a database of newly identified compounds whilst... Read More about An investigation of volatile organic compounds from the saliva of healthy individuals using headspace-trap/GC-MS.