3. RESULTS
3.1. Characterization of the urinary volatilome
The volatile composition of 132 urine samples was analysed using
HS-SPME/GC-MS. Supplementary Figure S1 shows typical chromatographic
profiles obtained for the control, COVID-19 patient, and recovered
subject groups using HS-SPME/GC-MS methodology. Overall, a larger number
of peaks with higher intensities were observed in the chromatographic
profile of the COVID group than in the CTRL profile (Figure S1,
supplementary Material). Furthermore, the number and intensity of peaks
in the RECOV group were intermediate between those in the COVID and CTRL
groups.
A total of 101 VOMs belonging to 13
chemical families were identified. Data regarding the VOMs detected in
the analysed samples, frequency of occurrence, and mean relative peak
areas are available in Supplementary Table S1. As shown in Figure 3,
terpenes, phenolic compounds, norisoprenoids, and ketones were the main
contributors to the urinary volatile profiles of the studied groups.