Breathomics: Advancing Personalized Medicine Through Next-Generation Analytical Solutions

Exhaled breath is increasingly recognized as a powerful source of molecular information for personalized medicine. Containing hundreds to thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that reflect metabolic, inflammatory, microbiological, and environmental processes, breath offers a unique, completely non-invasive window into human health. Yet, unlocking this chemical complexity requires analytical platforms capable of delivering both exceptional separation power and high-confidence molecular characterization.

At the forefront of this evolution is comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS), which has emerged as a cornerstone technology in modern breathomics. By significantly expanding chromatographic peak capacity and resolving power compared with conventional one-dimensional approaches, GCxGC-MS enables a more comprehensive exploration of the human volatilome and facilitates the discovery of clinically relevant biomarkers that would otherwise remain undetected.

This webinar will explore how advanced GCxGC-MS workflows are transforming breathomics research and accelerating its translation towards clinical implementation. Drawing on recent developments in untargeted and targeted analytical strategies, we will discuss how comprehensive volatilome profiling can be integrated with rapid and streamlined methodologies to create efficient multi-platform pipelines for biomarker discovery, validation, and routine application. Particular emphasis will be placed on the critical role of analytical design, quality control, and data processing in generating robust and reproducible results from highly complex breath samples.

Beyond technology development, the presentation will address the key challenges facing the field, including standardization of sampling protocols, harmonization of analytical methodologies, and the transition from exploratory studies to clinically actionable solutions. Real-world applications will illustrate how breathomics can support disease detection, patient stratification, therapeutic monitoring, and precision healthcare.

As analytical capabilities continue to advance, GCxGC-MS is positioning breathomics to move beyond proof-of-concept studies and towards a future where non-invasive molecular phenotyping becomes an integral component of personalized medicine.

Speaker: Anaïs Rodrigues (Applications Chemist, LECO Europe)

Speaker: Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto (Lead Scientist & Senior Lecturer, Liège University, Belgium)