Potential of volatile organic compounds as markers of entrapped humans for use in urban search-and-rescue operations

• Published in: TrAC, Trends in analytical chemistry (Regular ed.) Vol. 68; pp. 88 - 106
• Main Authors: Mochalski, Paweł, Unterkofler, Karl, Teschl, Gerald, Amann, Anton
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-05-2015
• Subjects: Biomarker; Earthquake; Entrapment; Human scent; Human volatilome; Search and rescue operation; Urban environment; VOC; Volatile marker; Volatile organic compound; Entrapment; Biomarker; Urban environment; Earthquake; Search and rescue operation; Human volatilome; Volatile organic compound; Human scent; VOC; Volatile marker
• ISSN: 0165-9936; 1879-3142
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2015.02.013

•The potential of the human volatilome for urban search and rescue operations.•We create a library of potential biomarkers of human presence using literature data.•We predict tentative levels of volatile organic compounds in void spaces in ruins.•We assess detecting volatile organic compounds in the urban environment.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by a human body form a chemical signature capable of providing invaluable information on the physiological status of an individual and, thereby, serving as signs of life for detecting victims after natural or man-made disasters. For this review, we created a database of potential biomarkers of human presence based on literature reports on VOCs in human breath, skin emanations, blood and urine. We estimated approximate fluxes of these VOCs from the human body, and used them to predict concentrations in the vicinity of victims. We classified proposed markers in groups by potential for victim detection. The major classification discriminants were the capability of detection by portable, real-time analytical instruments and background levels of VOCs in the urban environment. We intend data summarized in this review to assist studies on the detection of humans via chemical analysis and to accelerate investigations in this area of knowledge.