Open AccessQuantitative detection of hydrogen peroxide in rain, air, exhaled breath, and biological fluids by NMR spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Tayeb Kakeshpour,
Belhu Metaferia,
Richard N. Zare,
Ad Bax
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2121542119
Subject(s) - exhaled air , hydrogen peroxide , exhaled breath condensate , chemistry , spectroscopy , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , environmental chemistry , breath gas analysis , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , organic chemistry , biology , toxicology , physics , quantum mechanics , asthma , immunology
Hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) plays a key role in environmental chemistry, biology, and medicine. H2 O2 concentrations typically are 6 to 10 orders of magnitude lower than that of water, making its quantitative detection challenging. We demonstrate that optimized NMR spectroscopy allows direct, interference-free, quantitative measurements of H2 O2 down to submicromolar levels in a wide range of fluids, ranging from exhaled breath and air condensate to rain, blood, urine, and saliva. NMR measurements confirm the previously reported spontaneous generation of H2 O2 in microdroplets that form when condensing water vapor on a hydrophobic surface, which can interfere with atmospheric H2 O2 measurements. Its antimicrobial activity and strong seasonal variation speculatively could be linked to the seasonality of respiratory viral diseases.