EXAME DE PROFICIÊNCIA EM LÍNGUA INGLESA – MESTRADO – DEZ/2019

INSTRUÇÕES:

1. O exame deve ser feito à caneta, de forma legível (problemas com a compreensão da caligrafia
podem prejudicar a correção).

2 - Lápis pode ser utilizado para rascunho, em folhas de rascunho avulsas.

3 - É permitido o uso de um dicionário.

4 - Os exames serão recolhidos ao final do prazo de duas horas. Não será fornecido tempo
adicional.

Translate the following text into Portuguese. Text adapted from:

Disease Detection with Molecular Biomarkers: From Chemistry of Body Fluids to Nature-
Inspired Chemical Sensors
Yoav Y. Broza, Xi Zhou, Miaomiao Yuan, Danyao Qu, Youbing Zheng, Rotem Vishinkin,
Muhammad Khatib, Weiwei Wu, and Hossam Haick
Chem. Rev. 2019, 119, 11761-11817
Publication Date: November 15, 2019
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00437

DISEASE DETECTION WITH MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS: FROM

CHEMISTRY OF BODY FLUIDS TO NATURE-INSPIRED CHEMICAL
SENSORS

CHEMICAL MARKERS IN BODY FLUIDS

The last few decades have witnessed impressive advances in the development of new methods
for diagnosing and monitoring diseases via analysis of biomarkers in body fluids that are moving
in and/or out of the body. Specifically, chemical markers in blood, urine, sweat, breath, saliva,
interstitial fluid, tears, and cerebrospinal fluid can be indicative in many cases of disease
diagnosis and monitoring. In each of these body fluids, chemical markers can include proteins,
metabolites, small molecules, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pH, and more. The
sources of chemical markers, categorized into noninvasive and invasive groups, are presented in
the following subsections.
Noninvasive Sources
Breath
Breath is a gas exchange process for inhaling/exhaling O2, CO2, and metabolic products. VOCs
detected in breath are highly correlated to different biochemical process in both healthy and
diseased individuals. The chemical properties of VOCs are summarized as follows:

(a) Hydrocarbons: These compounds are highly correlated with oxidative stress mechanisms.
Alkanes are produced by peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which can cause
tissue damage in the body and may lead to cancer, aging, or other pathologies. When a saturated
hydrocarbon lipid, such as ethane or pentane (the final product of peroxidation), is detected in
the breath, it is widely used as a noninvasive in vivo indicator of lipid peroxidation.
Nevertheless, other branched saturated hydrocarbons remain unaffected by this mechanism.

(b) Alcohols: These compounds can be absorbed from the surrounding or can be produced by
cell metabolism. Alcohol metabolism is easily affected by many chemical or biological processes
in the body, mainly due to antidiuretic hormone (catalyzing the oxidation of alcohols) and
cytochrome P450.

(c) Aldehydes: There are many sources of aldehydes, such as metabolic production, smoking,
diet, detoxification of cytochrome P450, and cytochrome P450 as a secondary product of lipid
peroxidation to reduce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Some of these aldehydes are essential for
functions in the body, and others are considered as intermediates for cytotoxins.

(d) Ketones: These compounds can be produced in the body or enter it from the diet and
environment. During cancer development, ketone bodies are produced due to an increase in the
rate of fatty acid oxidation. Acetone, which is considered a very important derivative of the
ketones family, is obtained by spontaneous decarboxylation of acetoacetate, but the yield is
small. However, because physical activity and diet can affect acetone concentration, it is
unsuitable for use as a disease biomarker.
(e) Esters: These compounds are mainly derived from natural fats, fatty oils, natural waxes, or
essential fruit oils. Esterases can hydrolyze esters to alcohols and acids at room temperature (<40
°C).

(f) Nitriles and aromatic compounds: These compounds are generally considered to be
exogenous contaminants

Saliva
Saliva is an intriguing diagnostic fluid due to low invasiveness of access, minimum cost, and
easy sample collection and processing. Many of these can be informative in detecting oral and
systemic diseases. Chemical markers in saliva include metabolites (e.g., uric acid, glucose), a
variety of proteins (e.g., lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), α-amylase, albumin), and hormones (e.g.,
cortisol, testosterone). The saliva-related chemical markers of diseases are summarized as
follows:

(a) Metabolites: These intermediates and products of metabolism include uric acid, creatinine,
glucose, and more. Uric acid is the terminal degradation product of purine catabolism that
contributes to the antioxidant capacity of saliva, and salivary uric acid is elevated in adults with
metabolic syndrome. Salivary glucose can also be considered as a diabetes marker.

(b) Hormones: Measurement of salivary cortisol is physio- logically relevant because it closely
reflects the levels of unbound cortisol in blood. Stress increases cortisol, making it a potential
stress biomarker.