ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Within chemistry, organic chemistry is a discipline investigating compounds consisting primarily of carbon and hydrogen, and thus, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are molecules assembled around carbon and hydrogen atoms. With increasing number of carbon atoms, these compounds become solid matter but many of these organic compounds are small and volatile molecules. Chemically identical VOCs can be found both as environmental air pollutants and indoor air contaminants. VOCs are emitted from different sources such as combustion by-products, cooking, construction material, office equipment, consumer products, and industrial facilities. So-called microbial VOCs (mVOCs) can also be produced by the growth of molds and bacteria. In general, this class of chemicals consists of gases or vapors, but a generally accepted definition of the term VOCs is not available in the scientific literature.
