
Boris Brkic
University of Novi Sad, SerbiaTitle: Breath analysis using portable mass spectrometry for personalized nutrition
Abstract
Nutrition is one of the main topics of the society in
general. In modern times, it became even more
important due to increased rate of metabolic
disorders, such as obesity, diabetes type 2, and
cardiovascular diseases. There are various possible
causes to these disorders, however the great
proportion is a consequence of bad dietary habits
(e.g., overeating, poor quality diet) and lack of
physical activity. To stop this trend, some
prevention measures can be taken such as wide
screening of the population and personalized
dietary approach.
In this work, we performed large-scale validation
of the portable and affordable mass spectrometer
for food impact assessment from volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in breath. Validation was done
as a pilot study among 6 different population
groups: people with overweightness, people with
obesity, people with diabetes type II, people with
cardiovascular disease, people with poor quality
diet and professional athletes. More than 150
participants were recruited from 5 European
countries – UK, Greece, Germany, Belgium, and
Portugal with informed consents and ethical
approvals.
Food impact was assessed by monitoring the
concentrations of several VOCs (acetone, ethanol,
isoprene, and n-pentane) related to macronutrients
metabolism in exhaled breath samples. The
analysis was done using the newly developed
membrane inlet mass spectrometer (MIMS).
Concentration levels for selected breath VOCs
were determined in samples collected before the
meal and after the meal. The experimental data was
compared against the data acquired via the
questionnaire to discover possible relationships
between VOCs concentration levels and meal
consumption trends among specific population
groups. The results will be incorporated into the
mobile application for personalized nutrition and
analyzed by the experts.
Biography
Dr Boris Brki? is a research associate professor at
BioSense Institute. He is an electrical engineer with
his BEng and PhD obtained from the University of
Liverpool. His expertise lies in simulation, design,
development and implementation of portable mass
spectrometers. Before joining BioSense, Dr Brki?
worked as a postdoctoral researcher at University
of Liverpool and as a principal project manager at
Q Technologies Ltd. In this period, he was
involved with research and development of
portable membrane inlet mass spectrometers
(MIMS) for detection of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) for environmental, security
and energy applications. He led 9 research projects
in total which included 2 UK national projects, 1
Serbian national project, 1 EU FP7 project, 2 EU
H2020 projects (one still ongoing), 1 EU IPA
project and 2 industrial projects funded by British
Petroleum, British Gas, Chevron, ConocoPhillips,
ENI and Royal DSM. His current research interests
are in areas of sustainable agriculture, personalized
nutrition, food security and environmental
applications.