{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T19:15:33Z","timestamp":1776971733591,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]],"date-time":"2026-01-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769212800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"CICS-UBI base funding"},{"name":"institutional funds from the Foundation for Science and Technology budget"},{"name":"CICS UBI for the \u201cCICS-UBI Collaborative Project Award\u201d"},{"name":"PhD fellowships from FCT","award":["2023.03289.BD"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023.03289.BD"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomedicines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged as promising non-invasive biomarkers for assessing metabolic and reproductive health. In the context of assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs), the volatilomic composition of follicular fluid (FF) may reflect the biochemical environment surrounding the oocyte, influencing fertilization success and embryo development. This study aimed to characterize the volatilomic profile of FF in women undergoing ARTs and to explore associations between specific VOCs and female fertilization-related parameters (FFRPs). Methods: A total of 54 Caucasian women aged 19\u201339 years, enrolled between October 2015 and July 2019, were recruited at the Assisted Reproduction Laboratory of the Local Health Unit of Cova da Beira, Covilh\u00e3. FF samples were analyzed via gas chromatography\u2013mass spectrometry (GC\u2013MS) in scan mode, identifying 136 VOCs, of which 72 were selected based on prevalence. Sixteen FFRPs were evaluated, including age, body mass index (BMI), smoking habits, infertility factor, oocyte yield, embryo quality, \u03b2-hCG levels, country of birth, and reproductive history. Associations between VOCs and FFRPs were assessed using the Chi-square (\u03c72) test. Results: Significant correlations (p \u2264 0.05) were identified between 45 VOCs and 11 FFRPs. The detected compounds comprised alkanes, siloxanes, aromatics, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and esters, fatty acid derivatives, epoxides, acrylates, nitriles, and sterols. Several VOCs were associated with more than one FFRP, indicating overlapping metabolic pathways that may influence reproductive performance. Conclusions: The volatilomic profile of FF demonstrates significant variability linked to individual reproductive and metabolic factors. VOC analysis may provide novel insights into follicular physiology, representing a promising approach for identifying potential biomarkers of infertility and ART outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biomedicines14020264","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T10:24:36Z","timestamp":1769423076000},"page":"264","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Potential of Volatilomics as Female Fertilization Biomarkers in Assisted Reproductive Techniques"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Ana Teresa","family":"Brinca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"RISE-Health, Medical Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria Manuel Casteleiro","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assisted Reproduction Laboratory, Cova da Beira Local Health Unit, 6200-251 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2385-3749","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana M.","family":"Peir\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacogenetic Unit, Clinical Pharmacology Department, Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Dr. Balmis General University Hospital, 03010 Alicante, Spain"},{"name":"Institute of Bioengineering, Miguel Hern\u00e1ndez University, 03202 Elche, Spain"}]},{"given":"Pilar Matall\u00edn","family":"Evangelio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad de Reproducci\u00f3n, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, 03010 Alicante, Spain"}]},{"given":"Irene Eleno","family":"Buendicho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Fecundaci\u00f3n In Vitro, Hospital General Universitario Dr. Balmis de Alicante, 03010 Alicante, Spain"}]},{"given":"Antonio Helio","family":"Oliani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assisted Reproduction Laboratory, Cova da Beira Local Health Unit, 6200-251 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Gynaecology and Obstetrics, S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 do Rio Preto School of Medicine, S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 do Rio Preto 15090-000, Brazil"}]},{"given":"Vladimiro","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Procriar-Centro de Procria\u00e7\u00e3o Medicamente Assistida, 4100-130 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Torgal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ferticentro-Centro De Estudos De Fertilidade S.A., 3000-316 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Lu\u00eds F.","family":"Vicente","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro PMA, Hospital Lus\u00edadas Lisboa, 1500-458 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4783-665X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Cristina","family":"Ramalhinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RISE-Health, Medical Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Assisted Reproduction Laboratory, Cova da Beira Local Health Unit, 6200-251 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Beiras Clinical Academic Centre (CACB), Group of Problems Related to Cancer, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1802-8998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eugenia","family":"Gallardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RISE-Health, Medical Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de F\u00e1rmaco-Toxicologia, UBIMedical, University of Beira Interior, 6200-284 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Beiras Clinical Academic Centre (CACB), Group of Problems Related to Toxophilias, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brinca, A.T., Anjos, O., Alves, M.M.C., Sousa, \u00c2., Oliani, A.H., Breitenfeld, L., Passarinha, L.A., Ramalhinho, A.C., and Gallardo, E. 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