Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41590665›Full record

ArticleMetabolites2026

Headspace SPME GC-MS Analysis of Urinary Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) for Classification Under Sample-Limited Conditions.

Lea Woyciechowski, Tushar H More, Sabine Kaltenhäuser, Sebastian Meller, Karolina Zacharias, Friederike Twele, Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka, Tobias Welte, Thomas Illig, Georg M N Behrens and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Metabolites, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Lea WoyciechowskiDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biochemistry, BRICS-Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.ORCID 0009-0005-8779-8039
Tushar H MoreDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biochemistry, BRICS-Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
Sabine KaltenhäuserDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biochemistry, BRICS-Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
Sebastian MellerDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
Karolina ZachariasDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
Friederike TweleDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
Alexandra Dopfer-JablonkaDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7129-100X
Tobias WelteDepartment of Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
Thomas IlligHannover Unified Biobank (HUB), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4284-5389
Georg M N BehrensDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3111-621X
Holger A VolkDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7312-638X
Karsten HillerDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biochemistry, BRICS-Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.

Funding

COVID-19-Research Network Lower Saxony 14-76403-184Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for Grants & Funding SFB1454-432325352
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emerging as non-invasive biomarkers of metabolic and disease-related processes, yet their reliable detection from complex biological matrices such as urine remains analytically challenging. This study aimed to establish a robust, non-targeted headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GC-MS) workflow optimized for very small-volume urinary samples.

methodsWe systematically evaluated the effects of pH adjustment and NaCl addition on VOC extraction efficiency using a 75 µm CAR/PDMS fiber and a sample volume of only 0.75 mL. Method performance was further assessed using concentration-dependent experiments with representative VOC standards and by application to real human urine samples analyzed in technical triplicates.

resultsAcidification to pH 3 markedly improved extraction performance, increasing both total signal intensity and the number of detectable VOCs, whereas alkaline conditions and additional NaCl produced only minor effects. Representative VOC standards showed compound-specific linear dynamic ranges with minimal carry-over within the relevant analytical range. Application to real urine samples confirmed high analytical reproducibility, with triplicates clustering tightly in principal component analysis and most metabolites exhibiting relative standard deviations below 25%.

conclusionsThe optimized HS-SPME GC-MS method enables comprehensive, non-targeted urinary VOC profiling from limited sample volumes. This workflow provides a robust analytical foundation for exploratory volatilomics studies under sample-limited conditions and supports subsequent targeted method refinement once specific compounds or chemical classes have been prioritized.

Indexed as

CAR/PDMS fiberclassificationGC–MSHS–SPMEnon-targeted profilingpH adjustmentsmall sample volumeurinary VOCsurinevolatilomics

Identifiers

PMID41590665
PMCPMC12844078

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.