Concentration Analysis of Volatile Components in Shirts After Wearing Using MonoTrap Simple Enrichment Tools

Importance of the Topic

Volatile organic compounds released from worn textiles carry valuable information on wearer physiology, hygiene status and garment performance.
Analyzing these emissions supports better understanding of body odor formation, textile lifespan and the impact of topical applications.

Objectives and Study Overview

This study aimed to screen and identify volatile components emitted from a shirt after three days of wear by a female volunteer in her twenties.
Using a simple passive sampling device, researchers sought to detect odor-causing and ancillary compounds linked to aging, body odor and personal care products.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Passive sampling employed three MonoTrap RGC18TD enrichment tools placed in Tedlar bags with the worn shirt.
The assembly was incubated at 37 °C for 6 hours to capture volatiles.
Thermal desorption combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) was conducted under these conditions:

• Column: InertCap Pure-WAX (0.25 mm I.D., 30 m length, 0.25 µm film)
• Oven Program: 40 °C (5 min) ramped at 10 °C/min to 250 °C
• Carrier Gas: Helium at 1 mL/min constant flow
• Thermal Desorption: 200 °C for 5 min, splitless mode, cryo-trapping at –150 °C
• Injection Temperature: 250 °C
• Detection: Mass spectrometry scan m/z 30–600

Main Results and Discussion

Twenty-three volatile compounds were detected, including aldehydes, acids, alcohols, ketones and sunscreen agents.
Key odorants: trans-2-nonenal and nonanoic acid, both associated with the characteristic smell of aging and body odor.
Other identified compounds such as hexanal, nonanal and menthol indicate lipid oxidation and personal care product residues.
Detection of Parsol MCX confirmed transfer of sunscreen ingredients to the fabric.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Non-invasive profiling of body odor markers for hygiene and dermatological research.
• Evaluation of textile interactions with skin secretions for garment development.
• Monitoring of personal care product adherence and degradation on fabrics.

Future Trends and Applications

Improved sorptive materials and portable TD-GC/MS systems could enable on-site odor monitoring.
Real-time mass spectrometric techniques may facilitate dynamic tracking of volatile release.
Data-driven odor profiling could inform personalized textile treatments and cosmetic formulations.

Conclusion

The MonoTrap RGC18TD with TD-GC/MS provides an efficient and straightforward approach for analyzing volatiles from worn textiles.
Findings demonstrate its potential for applications in hygiene research, product testing and personal care evaluation.

References

• GL Sciences Inc. Technical Note GT096: Concentration Analysis of Volatile Components in Shirts After Wearing – Using MonoTrap Simple Enrichment Tools.