CO2 laser photoacoustic spectrometer for measuring ethylene, acetone, and ammonia in the breath of patients with renal disease

We applied our lab-built CO2 laser photoacoustic spectrometer, which has a multi-component measurement capability, for measuring the ammonia, acetone, and ethylene trace gases in the breath of 10 renal disease patients and 30 healthy volunteers. We argue that not only ammonia but also acetone and ethylene can become potential biomarkers for renal disease. We found that the breath ammonia and acetone concentrations from the renal disease patients are significantly higher than that of the healthy volunteers. While for ethylene, we found that the breath ethylene concentration from renal disease patients is not significantly higher than in the healthy volunteer. Besides a reconfirmation of the breath ammonia concentration as a biomarker for renal disease, our results open up a possibility for the breath acetone to be a possible biomarker for renal disease. © 2020 The Authors