Simultaneous sampling and analysis of indoor air infested with Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) by solid phase microextraction, thin film microextraction and needle trap device

Air in a room infested by Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) was sampled simultaneously by three different sampling devices including solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coatings, thin film microextraction (TFME) devices, and needle trap devices (NTDs) and then analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The main focus of this study was to fully characterize indoor air by identifying compounds extracted by three different microextraction formats and, therefore, perform both the device comparison and more complete characterization of C. lectularius pheromone. The NTD technique was capable of extracting both (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal, which were previously identified as alarm pheromones of bedbugs, and superior NTD recoveries for these two components allowed reliable identification based on mass spectral library searching and linear temperature programmed retention index (LTPRI) technique. While the use of DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber coatings provided complementary sample fingerprinting and profiling results, TFME sampling devices provided discriminative extraction coverage toward highly volatile analytes. In addition to two alarm pheromones, relative abundances of all other analytes were recorded for all three devices and aligned across all examined samples, namely, highly infested area, less infested area, and control samples which were characterized by different bedbug populations. The results presented in the current study illustrate comprehensive characterization of infested indoor air samples through the use of three different non-invasive SPME formats and identification of novel components comprising C. lectularius pheromone, therefore, promising future alternatives for use of potential synthetic pheromones for detection of infestations.

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► Air in a room infested by Cimex lectularius L. was sampled by SPME, TFME and NTDs.
► Characterization of indoor air and C. lectularius pheromone was performed with use of different SPME formats.
► The performance characteristics of three different SPME formats were compared for wide range of analytes.
► NTD devices captured (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal, compounds previously identified as alarm pheromones of bedbugs.