A new portable monitor for measuring odorous compounds in oral, exhaled and nasal air

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The B/B Checker^®, a new portable device for detecting odorous compounds in oral, exhaled, and nasal air, is now available. As a single unit, this device is capable of detecting several kinds of gases mixed with volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) in addition to other odorous gasses. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the B/B Checker^®for detecting the malodor level of oral, exhaled, and nasal air.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 30 healthy, non-smoking volunteers (16 males and 14 females) participated in this study. The malodor levels in oral, exhaled, and nasal air were measured using the B/B Checker^®and by organoleptic test (OT) scores. The VSCs in each air were also measured by gas chromatography (GC). Associations among B/B Checker^®measurements, OT scores and VSC levels were analyzed using Spearman correlation coefficients. In order to determine the appropriate B/B Checker^®level for screening subjects with malodor, sensitivity and specificity were calculated using OT scores as an identifier for diagnosing oral malodor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In oral and nasal air, the total VSC levels measured by GC significantly correlated to that measured by the B/B Checker^®. Significant correlation was observed between the results of OT scores and the B/B Checker^®measurements in oral (r = 0.892, p < 0.001), exhaled (r = 0.748, p < 0.001) and nasal air (r = 0.534, p < 0.001). The correlation between the OT scores and VSC levels was significant only for oral air (r = 0.790, p < 0.001) and nasal air (r = 0.431, p = 0.002); not for exhaled air (r = 0.310, p = 0.096). When the screening level of the B/B Checker^®was set to 50.0 for oral air, the sensitivity and specificity were 1.00 and 0.90, respectively. On the other hand, the screening level of the B/B Checker^®was set to 60.0 for exhaled air, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.82 and 1.00, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The B/B Checker^®is useful for objective evaluation of malodor in oral, exhaled and nasal air and for screening subjects with halitosis.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01139073">NCT01139073</a></p

Behavior of in vitro, in vivo and internal motion of micro/nano particles of titanium, titanium oxides and others

To clarify the effect of micro/nanosizing of materials onto biological organism, the particle size dependence of reaction of cells and tissue as investigated by both biochemical cell functional test and animal implantation test. Especially for nanoparticles the behavior of invasion and internal diffusion inside body was visualized using an XSAM (X-ray Scanning Analytical Microscope). The increase of specific surface area is usually counted as nanosizing effect which causes the enhancement of chemical reactivity and therefore toxicity of materials such as carcinogenicity found in 500nm Ni particles for the long term implantation in the soft tissue of rat. Even biocompatible materials such as Ti and TiO_2 shows stimulus with the decrease of particle size. They cause phagocytosis to cells and inflammation to tissue when the size of particles is below 3μm. For the size below 50nm, they may invade into the internal body through the respiratory or digestive system and diffuse inside body. After compulsory exposure test of 30nm TiO_2 particles through the respiratory system, the Ti mapping by XSAM showed the internal diffusion inside the whole body. Nanoparticles injected from caudal vein diffused with time course to lung, liver and spleen. The uptake of 30nm TiO_2 particles through the digestive system and diffusion into these organs was also confirmed. These phenomena observed in biocompatible or bioinert materials are the nonspecific, physical particle and shape effects which occur independent of materials. Nanoparticles might be the objects whose existence has not been assumed by the living body defense system