Development of sampling method and chromatographic analysis of volatile organic compounds emitted from human skin

Abstract

Aim: The studies on volatile organic compounds emitted from skin are an interest for chemists, biologists and physicians due to their role in development of different scientific areas, including medical diagnostics, forensic medicine and the perfume design. This paper presents a proposal of two sampling methods applied to skin odor collection: the first one uses a bag of cellulose film, the second one, using cellulose sachets filled with active carbon. Materials & methods: Volatile organic compounds were adsorbed on carbon sorbent, removed via thermal desorption and analyzed using gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer. Results: The first sampling method allowed identification of more compounds (52) comparing to the second one (30). Quantitative analyses for acetone, butanal, pentanal and hexanal were done. Conclusion: The skin odor sampling method using a bag of cellulose film, allowed the identification of many more compounds when compared with the method using a sachet filled with active carbon.