CARBON-13 (13CO2) BREATH TESTING

Carbon-13 breath testing has been used in gastrointestinal research for many years as safe, simple and non-invasive methods of monitoring organ function and nutritional status. They have been employed in study of gastric emptying, liver function, fat absorption, P450 mixed-function oxidase, bacterial overgrowth, oro-caecal transit time, etc.

Isolab Scientific provides a comprehensive mass spectrometry service for carbon-13 breath test samples and also can offer help in experimental design and data interpretation.

In simple terms, carbon-13 breath testing involves the ingestion of a substrate (commonly used substrates include: acetate, caffeine, erythromycin, octanoic acid, urea, triglyceride or xylose) labelled on one or more functional groups with 13C. These 13C labeled functional groups are cleaved from the rest of the substrate molecule by the action of specific enzymes. The functional groups then further oxide until 13 C enriched CO2 is produced and excreted in breath and the 13C:12C ratio in serially collected breath samples is measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. See Example Laboratory Report* for 13C-Urea breath tests to detect Helicobacter pylori infection.

Talk to our team about these options:

Liver Function Breath Tests

Gastric Emptying Breath Tests

Bacterial Overgrowth Breath Tests

Oro-Caecal Transit Time Breath Tests

Other Breath Tests

There are a number of other breath tests that are used in gastrointestinal research. These include:

  • 13C-Erythromycin breath test (cytochrome P450 1A4 activity)
  • 13C-Caffeine breath test (cytochrome P450 1A2 activity)
  • 13C-Urea breath test (Helicobacter pylori infection)
  • 13C-Mixed triglyceride breath test (pancreatic function)
  • 13C-Lactose digestion breath test (lactose intolerance)

For further information on our isotope analyses for 13C Breath, just get in touch with us on +44 (0) 203 278 2351 or at sales@isolab-scientific.com. We’ll be straight back to you.

 

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