Hydrogen cyanide in the headspace of oral fluid and in mouth-exhaled breath

J Breath Res. 2014 Jun;8(2):027108. doi: 10.1088/1752-7155/8/2/027108. Epub 2014 May 21.

Abstract

Mouth-exhaled hydrogen cyanide (HCN) concentrations have previously been reported to originate from the oral cavity. However, a direct correlation between the HCN concentration in oral fluid and in mouth-exhaled breath has not been explicitly shown. In this study, we set up a new methodology to simultaneously measure HCN in the headspace of oral fluid and in mouth-exhaled breath. Our results show that there is a statistically significant correlation between stimulated oral fluid HCN and mouth-exhaled HCN (rs = 0.76, p < 0.001). This confirms that oral fluid is the main contributor to mouth-exhaled HCN. Furthermore, we observe that after the application of an oral disinfectant, both the stimulated oral fluid and mouth-exhaled HCN concentrations decrease. This implies that HCN production in the oral cavity is related to the bacterial and/or enzymatic activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Breath Tests / methods*
  • Disinfectants
  • Exhalation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Cyanide / analysis*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth / metabolism*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Saliva / chemistry*

Substances

  • Disinfectants
  • Hydrogen Cyanide