ISTM

Patrik Špan?l was born in Prague in the Czech Republic. Just prior to his entry to Charles University, Prague in 1985 where he studied physics, he was placed first at the International Physics Olympiad held in Portorose, Slovenia. He obtained his first doctoral degree (RNDr, 1990) at Charles University researching into low temperature plasma physics. He then entered the Institute for Ion Physics of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where he obtained his second doctoral degree (Dr., 1994) researching into gas-phase ionic processes.

After conceiving and developing the SIFT-MS analytical method with Prof David Smith FRS at the School of Medicine at Keele University (1995-1997), where he is now a Professor, he moved to the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague to continue research into gas phase ion physics and chemistry and the further development and exploitation of SIFT-MS and FA-MS to trace gas analysis of air and exhaled breath.

ISTM Research themes: 1. Clinical & Diagnostic Science - Breath Analysis Group
2. Bioengineering & Therapeutics

Current Research Interests at ISTM:

1. Studies of ion-molecule reactions directed towards the analysis of trace amounts of gases in air and in human breath. The research carried out as a joint project between ISTM, Keele UK and the J Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Republic, funded by The Royal Society (1998-2001).

2. SIFT-MS applications in medicine: Clinical and laboratory research - the main fields of concern are nephrology (focusing on dialysis), cancer research and cell biology. In collaboration with Prof David Smith and specialists in medicine and biology (Dr Simon Davies, Prof James B Elder and Prof Alicia El Haj ), this research has been funded by the EPSRC as a Physics in Healthcare project (2000-2002).

3. FA-MS applications in medicine: A major clinical advancement is the development of an on-line method for the determination of total body water from the deuterium abundance in single breath exhalations.

4. SIFT-MS in animal husbandry: In collaboration with Dr R Dewhurst (IGER), Dr J Jones (SILSOE) and Prof David Smith, analyses of samples of porcine excrements and bovine rumen gas have been carried out. A pilot study of molecular emissions from bovine cervical smears has also been carried out in collaboration with Dr T Mottram (SILSOE)

5. Aldehydes in Foods: In collaboration with Prof David Smith and Prof J Van Doren (who visited the J Heyrovsky Institute partially funded by the Fullbright Commission). Results provide kinetic data on ion chemistry of aldehydes relevant to food flavour research.

Current Projects include:

Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry, SIFT-MS

 

Schematic diagram of selected ion flow tube (SIFT) apparatus.

SIFT-MS has been designed and constructed to allow on-line, real time analyses of the trace gases in ambient (polluted) air, exhaled breath and the headspace of aqueous liquids. The SIFT-MS analytical method combines fast flow tube techniques and quantitative mass spectrometry. The air/breath/headspace sample is introduced into fast flowing helium carrier gas where the trace gases in the sample react with embedded reagent ions (H₃O⁺, NO⁺ or O₂⁺) to produce characteristic product ions that identify the trace gases, and accurate quantification is achieved from knowledge of the kinetics of the ion/trace gas molecule reactions. Unlike other analytical techniques, an important feature of SIFT-MS analyses is that sample collection into bags or onto traps are not required, which can compromise the sample, and time consuming calibration is unnecessary. This allows the direct analysis of single exhalations of breath and provides the scientist/clinician with immediate results. Rapid non-invasive analyses of breath can now be routinely performed in the clinical environment with minimal stress to the patients, which is new route to clinical diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.

 

Flowing Afterglow Mass Spectrometry (FA-MS)

 

The principle of the FA-MS technique is similar to that of SIFT-MS in that it exploits ion chemistry coupled with fast flow tube techniques and quantitative mass spectrometry. However, FA-MS is specifically used for the on-line determination of the deuterium content of water vapour in exhaled breath and the vapour above aqueous liquids. Thus, for example, the deuterium content of single breath exhalations can be measured following the ingestion of a small known amount of deuterium oxide when, following the principle of isotope dilution, the total body water of the subject can be obtained, which is proving to be particularly useful in nephrology.
 

"Meeting the Canine Challenge to Cancer Detection", news article in Spectroscopy Now, 15 July 2004.

"Sifting through Breath for Cyanide", news article in Spectroscopy Now, 15 March 2005.

Selected Recent Publications:

(Prof Patrik Špan?l has 136 publications in peer reviewed journals and book chapters. Below is a selection of five publications).

Patrik Špan?l, Kseniya Dryahina and David Smith
Microwave plasma ion sources for selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry: Optimizing their performance and detection limits for trace gas analysis.
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 267 (2007) 117-124.

Patrik Špan?l, Kseniya Dryahina and David Smith
A general method for the calculation of absolute trace gas concentrations in air and breath from selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry data.
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 249/250 (2006) 230-239 

Patrik Špan?l, Claire Turner, Tianshu Wang, Roger Bloor and David Smith
Generation of volatile compounds on mouth exposure to urea and sucrose: implications for exhaled breath analysis.
Physiological Measurement 27 (2006) N7-N17

Kseniya Dryahina, Patrik Špan?l
A convenient method for calculation of ionic diffusion coefficients for accurate selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS.
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 244 (2005) 148–154.

Patrik Špan?l, David Smith
Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) and flowing afterglow mass spectrometry (FA-MS) for the determination of the deuterium abundance in water vapour.
in Pier A. de Groot (ed.) Handbook of Stable Isotope Analytical Techniques (2004), Elsevier, 88-102 [ISBN: 0-444-51114-8].

Follow this link for recent abstracts of all Prof Spanel's recent SIFT-MS work.

Follow this link for most recent publications for Prof Spanel at ResearcherID.

Useful links on Breath Analysis:

"Meeting the Canine Challenge to Cancer Detection", news article in Spectroscopy Now, 15 July 2004. 

"Sifting through Breath for Cyanide", news article in Spectroscopy Now, 15 March 2005.