Journal of Breath Research: Volatiles for Medical Diagnosis is dedicated to all aspects of breath science, with the major focus on analysis of exhaled breath in physiology and medicine, and the diagnosis and treatment of breath odours.

In recent years it has emerged that many different volatile compounds are present in exhaled breath, some now known to be present at trace levels in the parts-per-million (ppm), parts-per-billion (ppb) and even at the parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels, and that these can be valuable indicators of metabolic status and can distinguish between the healthy and diseased states if they can be unambiguously identified and their levels measured to an acceptable accuracy. This represents a major challenge that is being met by both physical scientists and clinicians with increasing success, principally due to the remarkable developments in gas analytical techniques and sampling methodology that have occurred during the last decade. Exhaled breath (gas) and exhaled breath condensate analyses are non-invasive and of value to medical practitioners (including specialists in internal medicine, oncology, dental medicine, renal medicine, paediatrics, psychiatry, sleep medicine, sports medicine, workplace medicine), physiologists, microbiologists, biochemists and pharmacologists.

Journal of Breath Research provides a forum for the presentation and critical evaluation of the different analytical techniques used for analysis of breath samples for medical diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. These include gas-chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection (GCMS), selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS), laser spectrometry and sensor technology. Appropriate sampling procedures for breath and the interpretation of results from the clinical and physiological viewpoints will be a particular focus. It will also be of interest to chemists, physicists and laser experts with an interest in gas analysis.

Journal of Breath Research covers research into use of breath science for diagnosing and monitoring systemic health, lung- and oesophageal cancer, lung and bronchial disease and infection, monitoring alcohol intake, detecting exposure to smoke and to workplace and home contaminants, diagnosing and treating halitosis and oral diseases, testing physiological aspects of breathing and respiration (oxygenation, carbon dioxide, moisture, capacity, rate), testing for oxidative stress and psychological stress and anxiety, identifying sleep apnoea and investigating acid reflux cough. A focus will be on isotopic labelling (e.g. 13C-labelling) of substances that lead to better understanding of production and transport of volatile substances within the body, including their production by gut bacteria, and the subsequent excretion in breath and emission from urine and faeces. Parallel measurements of breath/dermal emission of volatiles are also of growing interest.

Papers

Descriptions of original scientific research, techniques and applications; not normally more than 12 000 words (14 journal pages). All research papers should show strong evidence validating the scientific hypothesis, or the novelty, performance or comparative advantage of the technique or application

Communications

Shorter versions of Papers and not normally more than 4000 words (4 journal pages).

Perspectives

Personal view on a particular research topic or discipline.

Topical reviews

Intended to summarize accepted practice and report on recent progress in selected areas; generally commissioned by the Editorial Board, from experts in various fields.

Comments and replies

Comments on, or criticisms of, previously published work or comments on general scientific matters; not normally more than 1800 words (2 journal pages).

Special requirements

Authors of all articles are required upon submission to disclose any potential conflict of interest (e.g. employment, consulting fees, industrial research contracts, stock ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, honoraria, etc) in their covering letter. If the article is subsequently accepted for publication, this information should be included in an acknowledgments section. Authors should also note that the journal fully endorses the principles embodied in the Declaration of Helsinki. All investigations involving humans must be conducted in accordance with these principles and in accordance with local statutory requirements. Articles relying on clinical trials should quote the trial registration number at the end of the abstract. We also encourage the registration of such studies in a public trials registry prior to publication of the results in the journal. All investigations involving animal experimentation must be conducted in conformity with the 'Guiding Principles for Research Involving Animals and Human Beings' as adopted by The American Physiological Society.