Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening infection of the heart which is usually bacterial in nature. The treatment of this disease relies greatly on its early diagnosis, which typically utilizes a blood culture to confirm the presence and identity of the bacteria. However, during the early stages of the disease, a patient’s blood culture may test negative despite having the disease, a phenomenon known as Blood Culture Negative Endocarditis (BCNE). Thus, alternative diagnostic routes must be considered, such as by utilizing the microbial volatile organic compound (mVOC) profile of bacteria that commonly cause IE, such as Streptococcus sanguinis (S. sanguinis). Therefore, the aim of this project was to determine the mVOC profile of S. sanguinis, one of the most common agents of IE using headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The first step in creating this new method involved optimizing SPME extraction conditions, such as extraction time and fiber type. Once completed, the mVOC profile of S. sanguinis (in broth culture) was determined using the optimized conditions. This same approach can be utilized for other bacteria that cause IE, leading to the creation of a database of mVOC profiles. Eventually, these results could be applied to a clinical setting in order to develop alternative diagnostic routes.

Establishing the microbial volatile organic compound (mVOC) profile of Streptococcus sanguinis (S. sanguinis): An agent of infective endocarditis

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