Detection of abused drugs in human exhaled breath using mass spectrometry: A review

Rationale Human breath analysis has been attracting increasing interest in the detection of abused drugs in forensic and clinical applications because of its noninvasive sampling and distinctive molecular information. Mass spectrometry (MS)‐based approaches have been proven to be powerful tools for accurately analyzing exhaled abused drugs. The major advantages of MS‐based approaches include high sensitivity, high specificity, and versatile couplings with various breath sampling methods. Methods Recent advances in the methodological development of MS analysis of exhaled abused drugs are discussed. Breath collection and sample pretreatment methods for MS analysis are also introduced. Results Recent advances in technical aspects of breath sampling methods are summarized, highlighting active and passive sampling. MS methods for detecting different exhaled abused drugs are reviewed, emphasizing their features, advantages, and limitations. The future trends and challenges in MS‐based breath analysis of exhaled abused drugs are also discussed. Conclusions The coupling of breath sampling methods with MS approaches has been proven to be a powerful tool for the detection of exhaled abused drugs, offering highly attractive results in forensic investigations. MS‐based detection of exhaled abused drugs in exhaled breath is a relatively new field and is still in the early stages of methodological development. New MS technologies promise a substantial benefit for future forensic analysis.