Masters Applied Projects

Project 6

Using Volatile Organic Compounds to Monitor the Molecular Quality of Tissue Samples

Student: Claudia Fragoso

Mentors: Dr. Carolyn Compton – SoLS and Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Dr. Barbara Smith – SBHSE
Dr. Jeffrey Kleim – SBHSE

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/86374662144

Time: 10am – 2pm

Abstract

A major challenge with tissue samples used for biopsies is the ability to monitor their molecular quality before diagnostic testing. When tissue is resected from a patient, the cells are removed from their blood supply and normal temperature-controlled environment, which causes significant biological stress. As a result, the molecular composition and integrity undergo significant change. Currently, there is no method to track the effects of these artefactual stresses on the sample tissue to determine any deviations from the actual patient physiology. Without a way to track these changes, pathologists have to blindly trust that the tissue samples they are given are of high quality and fit for molecular analysis; physicians use the analysis to make diagnoses and treatment plans based on the assumption that the samples are valid. This means that 3 million patients each year may be at risk of being misdiagnosed or mismanaged due to artefactual data from a compromised tissue sample that does not accurately reflect the biology of their disease. To meet this unresolved need, this project conducted an animal experiment to determine the reliability of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a marker of tissue viability. This research included analysis done via GC-MS to identify VOCs emitted from the samples, as well as metabolomic analysis to correlate the VOCs to tissue degradation.