Validated thin-film microextraction-GC-MS reveals volatile metabolite signatures of Acinetobacter baumannii - Candida albicans interactions relevant to polymicrobial infection research
- 1Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, A. Jurasza 2 Str., Bydgoszcz, Poland, 85-089
- 2Institute of Advanced Studies, Wileńska 4, Toruń, Poland, 87-100
- 3Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Maria Curie-Skłodowska 9 Str., Bydgoszcz, Poland, 85-094
Abstract
Background: Microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may provide information on pathogenspecific metabolism and interspecies interactions, but their reliable characterization as potential indicators for diagnosis of emerging infections requires a robust analytical workflow. This study developed an in-house hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (HLB) thin-film microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TFME-GC-MS) workflow for dynamic VOC profiling of Acinetobacter baumannii, Candida albicans, and their mixed culture, to evaluate its applicability to microbial metabolomics in pre-clinical biomarker discovery. Methods: The workflow was optimized and subjected to validation using a panel of 20 VOCs in tryptic soy broth. The method showed compound-dependent analytical performance suitable for comparative microbial volatilomics, with negligible carryover and sufficient sensitivity for profiling dynamic VOC changes. Results: Application to mono- and co-cultures revealed distinct temporal VOC patterns associated with bacterial, fungal, and interaction-dependent metabolism. The multivariate analysis indicated that among the 145 VOCs monitored, 57 showed significant changes in A. baumannii cultures and 60 in C. albicans cultures, while 33 compounds supported differentiation of the investigated culture types based on VIP scores. The co-cultivation produced a VOC profile that could not be accounted for by summing the volatilomes of the individual monocultures, indicating metabolic interactions among the microorganisms. Calibration-based analysis of selected target VOCs further supported the profiling results for representative compounds. Conclusions: The proposed TFME-GC-MS method is a useful pharmaceutical-analysis tool for preclinical prioritization of volatile biomarker candidates relevant to future studies of polymicrobial infections.
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BibTeX
@misc{zuchowska2026validated,
title = {{Validated thin-film microextraction-GC-MS reveals volatile metabolite signatures of Acinetobacter baumannii - Candida albicans interactions relevant to polymicrobial infection research}},
author = {Karolina Żuchowska and Wojciech Filipiak and Dagmara Depka-Radzikowska and Tomasz Bogiel and Karol Jaroch and Barbara Bojko},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008625/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008625/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Validated thin-film microextraction-GC-MS reveals volatile metabolite signatures of Acinetobacter baumannii - Candida albicans interactions relevant to polymicrobial infection research
AU - Karolina Żuchowska
AU - Wojciech Filipiak
AU - Dagmara Depka-Radzikowska
AU - Tomasz Bogiel
AU - Karol Jaroch
AU - Barbara Bojko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008625/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008625/v1
AB - Background: Microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may provide information on pathogenspecific metabolism and interspecies interactions, but their reliable characterization as potential indicators for diagnosis of emerging infections requires a robust analytical workflow. This study developed an in-house hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (HLB) thin-film microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TFME-GC-MS) workflow for dynamic VOC profiling of Acinetobacter baumannii, Candida albicans, and their mixed culture, to evaluate its applicability to microbial metabolomics in pre-clinical biomarker discovery. Methods: The workflow was optimized and subjected to validation using a panel of 20 VOCs in tryptic soy broth. The method showed compound-dependent analytical performance suitable for comparative microbial volatilomics, with negligible carryover and sufficient sensitivity for profiling dynamic VOC changes. Results: Application to mono- and co-cultures revealed distinct temporal VOC patterns associated with bacterial, fungal, and interaction-dependent metabolism. The multivariate analysis indicated that among the 145 VOCs monitored, 57 showed significant changes in A. baumannii cultures and 60 in C. albicans cultures, while 33 compounds supported differentiation of the investigated culture types based on VIP scores. The co-cultivation produced a VOC profile that could not be accounted for by summing the volatilomes of the individual monocultures, indicating metabolic interactions among the microorganisms. Calibration-based analysis of selected target VOCs further supported the profiling results for representative compounds. Conclusions: The proposed TFME-GC-MS method is a useful pharmaceutical-analysis tool for preclinical prioritization of volatile biomarker candidates relevant to future studies of polymicrobial infections.
ER -