Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Terahertz Spectroscopic Breath Analysis As A Viable Analytical Chemical Sensing Technique, Robert M. Schueler

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The ability to quantify trace chemicals in human breath enables the possibility of identifying breath biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. The vast majority of the studies in the analytical breath analysis rely on GC-MS techniques for quantification of the human breath composition1,2,3,4. THz spectroscopy of breath is rapid, sensitive, and highly specific molecular identification in complex mixtures containing 10-100 analytes with near `absolute' specificity. THz spectroscopic breath analyzers require chemical preconcentration. A newly developed custom preconcentrator was constructed and compared in its performance to a commercial system. Unlike the commercial counterpart, the new system does not require cryogenic liquids, is …