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BACKGROUND: The inconsistent relationship between chemical exposure and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) has been examined in only a few studies. We investigated the association between paraben exposure and indicators of renal function in a total of 361 individuals recruiting from a representative study. METHOD: The levels of urinary parabens, including methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), and butylparaben (BuP), were measured using UPLC-MS/MS. The association between paraben exposure and indices of renal function was assessed using multiple logistic regression and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR). RESULTS: The median levels of urinary parabens in the adult group were significantly higher than those in the minor group, that is, 397 vs. 148â¯ng/mL for MeP, 38.8 vs. 13.6â¯ng/mL for EtP, 117 vs. 57.7â¯ng/mL for PrP, and 6.61 vs. 2.79â¯ng/mL for BuP (all P < 0.001). In the adult group, multivariate regression models confirmed a positive association between the albumin-to-creatinine ratio and urinary MeP (ß = 0.580) and a positive association of BUN (ß = 0.061) and a negative association of eGFR (ß = -0.051) with urinary EtP (all P < 0.001). In the adult group, compared with the lowest tertile group, the adjusted odds ratio in the third tertile (T3) of urinary EtP levels indicated a 3.08 times increased risk of eGFR abnormalities, followed by the second tertile (T2) with a 2.63 times increased risk. The generalized additive model (GAM) and BKMR models showed a non-linear correlation between urinary EtP levels and early CKD, as well as reduced eGFR. We observed a significant positive cumulative effect of urinary paraben on eGFR, and a significant positive single exposure effect of urinary EtP with eGFR abnormality. CONCLUSION: We found a significant association between exposure to EtP and an increased risk of high BUN levels and decreased eGFR.
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Methoxy-DDT is an organochlorine pesticide extensively used in agricultural practices as a DDT substitute. Methoxy-DDT has been found and quantified in several investigations in groundwater, drinking water, sediment, and various biota. Therefore, designing efficient and cost-effective adsorbents for removing methoxy-DDT is vital. In this work, we embedded Ficus benghalensis L. derived carbon dots (CDs) in mesoporous silica (MS) to fabricate MS-CDs nanohybrid material. MS-CDs nanohybrid exhibited remarkable selectivity and removal efficiency towards methoxy-DDT, outperforming other endocrine disruptors. Parameters for industrial-scale fixed-bed adsorption columns, such as bed capacity, length, and breakthrough times, were analyzed. The kinetic study revealed that pseudo-second-order (PSO) adsorption and isotherm analysis confirmed the Langmuir model as the best fit. Small bed adsorption (SBA) column analysis was carried out using spiked Yamuna river water, and the breakthrough curves were demonstrated by varying MS-CDs bed height. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained for methoxy-DDT was 17.16 mg/g at breakthrough and 49.98 mg/g at exhaustion. The adsorbent showed 86.53% removal efficiency in the 5th cycle, demonstrating good reusability. These results indicate that the developed material MS-CDs-based organic sphere is an effective adsorbent for aqueous methoxy-DDT adsorption and can be applied to wastewater treatment.
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Carbono , DDT , Dióxido de Silicio , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua , Purificación del Agua , Adsorción , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/química , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisis , Dióxido de Silicio/química , Carbono/química , DDT/química , DDT/análisis , Purificación del Agua/métodos , Nanosferas/química , Ficus/química , Cinética , PorosidadRESUMEN
Introduction: Ever since the use of bisphenol A (BPA) has been restricted, concerns have been raised regarding the use of its substitutes, such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF). Meanwhile, the EU European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued the new tolerable daily intake (TDI) after the latest re-risk assessment for BPA, which enforced the need for cumulative risk assessment in the population. This study was conducted to identify BPA and its substitute's exposure characteristics of the general Taiwanese population and estimate the cumulative risk of bisphenol exposure. Methods: Urine samples (N = 366 [adult, 271; minor, 95]) were collected from individuals who participated in the Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants 2013. The samples were analyzed for BPA, BPS, and BPF through ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Daily intake (DI) levels were calculated for each bisphenol. Hazard quotients (HQs) were calculated with the consideration of tolerable DI and a reference dose. Additionally, hazard index (HI; sum of HQs for each bisphenol) values were calculated. Results: Our study found that the median level of BPA was significantly higher in adults (9.63 µg/g creatinine) than in minors (6.63 µg/g creatinine) (p < 0.001). The DI of BPS was higher in female (0.69 ng/kg/day) than in male (0.49 ng/kg/day); however, the DIs of BPF and BPS were higher in boys (1.15 and 0.26 ng/kg/day, respectively) than in girls (0.57 and 0.20 ng/kg/day, respectively). Most HI values exceeded 1 (99% of the participants) after EFSA re-establish the TDI of BPA. Discussion: Our study revealed that the exposure profiles and risk of BPA and its substitute in Taiwanese varied by age and sex. Additionally, the exposure risk of BPA was deemed unacceptable in Taiwan according to new EFSA regulations, and food contamination could be the possible source of exposure. We suggest that the risk of exposure to BPA and its substitutes in most human biomonitoring studies should be reassessed based on new scientific evidence.
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Compuestos de Bencidrilo , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales , Fenoles , Sulfonas , Humanos , Fenoles/orina , Fenoles/análisis , Fenoles/toxicidad , Compuestos de Bencidrilo/orina , Compuestos de Bencidrilo/toxicidad , Femenino , Masculino , Taiwán , Adulto , Medición de Riesgo , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/análisis , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/estadística & datos numéricos , Niño , Persona de Mediana Edad , Adolescente , Sulfonas/análisis , Adulto Joven , Anciano , Preescolar , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Contaminantes Ambientales/análisisRESUMEN
Repairing and regenerating damaged tissues or organs, and restoring their functioning has been the ultimate aim of medical innovations. 'Reviving healthcare' blends tissue engineering with alternative techniques such as hydrogels, which have emerged as vital tools in modern medicine. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a practical manufacturing revolution that uses building strategies like molding as a viable solution for precise hydrogel manufacturing. Recent advances in this technology have led to the successful manufacturing of hydrogels with enhanced reproducibility, accuracy, precision, and ease of fabrication. Hydrogels continue to metamorphose as the vital compatible bio-ink matrix for AM. AM hydrogels have paved the way for complex 3D/4D hydrogels that can be loaded with drugs or cells. Bio-mimicking 3D cell cultures designed via hydrogel-based AM is a groundbreaking in-vivo assessment tool in biomedical trials. This brief review focuses on preparations and applications of additively manufactured hydrogels in the biomedical spectrum, such as targeted drug delivery, 3D-cell culture, numerous regenerative strategies, biosensing, bioprinting, and cancer therapies. Prevalent AM techniques like extrusion, inkjet, digital light processing, and stereo-lithography have been explored with their setup and methodology to yield functional hydrogels. The perspectives, limitations, and the possible prospects of AM hydrogels have been critically examined in this study.
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Hidrogeles , Ingeniería de Tejidos , Hidrogeles/química , Humanos , Ingeniería de Tejidos/métodos , Bioimpresión/métodos , Impresión Tridimensional , Animales , Sistemas de Liberación de Medicamentos , Técnicas de Cultivo de Célula , Técnicas de Cultivo Tridimensional de Células/métodosRESUMEN
The facile fabrication is reported of highly electrochemically active Ti3C2Tx MXene/MWCNT (3D/1D)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPE) for the efficient simultaneous electrochemical detection of paracetamol, theophylline, and caffeine in human blood samples. 3D/1D Ti3C2Tx MXene/MWCNT nanocomposite was synthesized using microwave irradiation and ultrasonication processes. Then, the Ti3C2Tx/MWCNT-modified SPE electrode was fabricated and thoroughly characterized towards its physicochemical and electrochemical properties using XPS, TEM, FESEM, XRD, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry techniques. As-constructed Ti3C2Tx-MWCNT/SPE offers excellent electrochemical sensing performance with good detection limits (0.23, 0.57, and 0.43 µM) and wide linear ranges (1.0 ~ 90.1, 2.0 ~ 62.0, and 2.0-90.9 µM) for paracetamol, caffeine, and theophylline, respectively, in the human samples. Notably, the non-enzymatic electroactive nanocomposite-modified electrode has depicted a semicircle Nyquist plot with low charge transfer resistance (Rctâ¼95 Ω), leading to high ionic diffusion and facilitating an excellent electron transfer path. All the above results in efficient stability, reproducibility, repeatability, and sensitivity compared with other reported works, and thus, it claims its practical utilization in realistic clinical applications.
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Nanocompuestos , Nanotubos de Carbono , Nitritos , Elementos de Transición , Humanos , Acetaminofén , Cafeína , Teofilina , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Titanio/química , Técnicas Electroquímicas/métodos , Nanotubos de Carbono/química , Nanocompuestos/químicaRESUMEN
Aquatic ecosystems and potable water are being exploited and depleted due to urbanization and the encouragement of extensive industrialization, which induces the scarcity of pure water. However, current decontamination methods are limited and inefficient. Various innovative remediation strategies with novel nanomaterials have recently been demonstrated for wastewater treatment. Carbon dots (C-dots) and graphene quantum dots (GQ-dots) are the most recent frontiers in carbon nanomaterial-based adsorption studies. C-dots are extremely small (1-10 nm) quasi-spherical carbon nanoparticles (mostly sp3 hybridized carbon), whereas GQ-dots are fragments of graphene (1-20 nm) composed of primarily sp2 hybridized carbon. This article highlights the function of C-dots and GQ-dots with their specifications and characteristics for the efficient removal of organic and inorganic contaminants in water via adsorption chromatography. The alteration of adsorption attributes with the hybrid blending of these dots has been critically analyzed. Moreover, various top-down and bottom-up approaches for synthesizing C-dots and GQ-dots, which ultimately affect their morphology and structure, are described in detail. Finally, we review the research deficit in the adsorption of diverse pollutants, fabrication challenges, low molecular weight, self-agglomeration, and the future of the dots by providing research prospects and selectivity and sensitivity perspectives, the importance of post-adsorption optimization strategies and the path toward scalability at the tail of the article.
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Carbono , Grafito , Puntos Cuánticos , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua , Puntos Cuánticos/química , Grafito/química , Adsorción , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisis , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/química , Carbono/química , Purificación del Agua/métodos , Cromatografía/métodos , Descontaminación/métodosRESUMEN
Several studies have suggested that some endocrine disruptors such as synthetic phenols, parabens and phthalates may disrupt thyroid hormone signaling and associated negative feed-backs with the central hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. Therefore, we investigated urinary paraben and blood thyroid hormone levels in the Taiwanese population. Our sample comprised 264 adults (aged 18-97 years) and 75 minors (aged 7-17 years) from Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants 2013. Urinary levels of methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), and butylparaben (BuP) were assessed. Hormones of particular interest include: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4). We sought integrated parameters to describe the transfer of thyroid hormones in homeostatic models. The geometric mean urinary paraben levels of the adults were higher than those of the minors (adults vs. minors; MeP: 383 vs. 62.4 ng/mL; PrP: 109 vs. 8.00 ng/mL; EtP: 39.5 vs. 2.38 ng/mL, and BuP: 6.36 vs. 2.13 ng/mL). In the male adults, we discovered that 0.253% (p = 0.032), 0.256% (p = 0.041) and 0.257% (p = 0.037) decreases in the TSH, TSH/T4 and TSH/FreeT4 ratio was associated with 1% EtP increases, respectively. In the female minors, 0.093% (p = 0.044), 0.072% (p = 0.047) and 0.156 (p = 0.004) increases in the TSH ratios were associated with a 1% MeP, EtP and BuP increase, respectively. Moreover, 0.151% (p = 0.008) and 0.177% (p = 0.001) increases in TSH/T4 and TSH/free T4 ratios were associated with a BuP 1% increase, respectively. Finally, EtP was positively associated with SPINA-GT (ß: 15.66, p = 0.036) in the male adults. By contrast, EtP were positively associated with Jostel's TSH index and sTSHI (ß: 0.072, p = 0.049; ß: 0.107, p = 0.049) in the female minors. The Taiwanese population is commonly exposed to parabens, which can potentially lead to alteration of thyroid hormone homeostasis.
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Parabenos , Glándula Tiroides , Masculino , Humanos , Femenino , Glándula Tiroides/química , Parabenos/análisis , Taiwán , Hormonas Tiroideas , Tirotropina , Sustancias Peligrosas , Homeostasis , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/análisisRESUMEN
School-age children living near large petrochemical factories may be at high risk of exposure to benzene released during manufacturing processes. We aimed to investigate the urinary concentrations of trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) in school-age children living near a petrochemical complex and to estimate their cumulative risk of benzene exposure. We examined an established cohort (Taiwan Petrochemical Complex Cohort for Children, TPE3C) of school-age children (aged 6-13 years) who lived near large petrochemical factories in central Taiwan between October 2013 and September 2014. The cohort comprised 297 children from five elementary schools, namely S.-C. Branch (n = 63, school A, ~0.9 km), F.-A. (n = 51, school B, ~2.7 km), C.-T. (n = 63, school C, ~5.5 km), M.-L. (n = 54, school D, ~6.9 km), and L.-F. (n = 66, school E, ~8.6 km). We analyzed the urinary t,t-MA levels of each participant and estimated their daily intake of benzene. We also performed multiple regression analysis to investigate potential risk factors for a high urinary t,t-MA level in the study cohort. The median urinary t,t-MA levels and median estimated benzene daily intake of the children from each school were as follows: school A, 64.07 ng/mL, 11.13 µg/kg/day; school B, 61.01 ng/mL, 15.32 µg/kg/day; school C, 59.38 ng/mL, 14.81 µg/kg/day; school D, 42.35 ng/mL, 11.67 µg/kg/day; school E, undetected, 0.14 µg/kg/day. The distance between a school and a petrochemical complex (greater distance: ß = -0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.52 to 0.00, p = 0.053), and the age of the children (older age: ß = -3.44, 95% CI = -5.90 to -1.46, p < 0.001) were identified as potential risk factors. After confounders were adjusted for, the creatinine adjusted urinary t,t-MA levels of the school-age children tended to be lower when the distance between their school and a petrochemical complex was greater.
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Benceno , Humanos , Niño , Taiwán/epidemiología , Medición de Riesgo , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Cooking oil fumes (COFs) comprised of a mixture of cancer-causing volatile organic aldehydes (VOAs), particularly trans, trans-2,4-decadienal (t,t-DDE), 4-hydroxy-hexenal (4-HHE), and 4-hydroxy-nonenal (4-HNE). Monitoring toxic VOAs levels in people exposed to different cooking conditions is vital to predicting the cancer risk. For this purpose, we developed a fast tissue extraction (FaTEx) technique combined with UHPLC-MS/MS to monitor three toxic VOAs in mice lung tissue samples. FaTEx pre-treatment protocol was developed by combining two syringes for extraction and clean-up process. The various procedural steps affecting the FaTEx sample pre-treatment process were optimized to enhance the target VOAs' extraction efficiency from the sample matrix. Under the optimal experimental conditions, results exhibit good correlation coefficient values > 0.99, detection limits were between 0.5-3 ng/g, quantification limits were between 1-10 ng/g, and the matrix effect was <18.1%. Furthermore, the extraction recovery values of the spiked tissue exhibited between 88.9-109.6% with <8.6% of RSD. Cooking oil fume (containing t,t-DDE) treated mice at various time durations were sacrificed to validate the developed technique, and it was found that t,t-DDE concentrations were from 14.8 to 33.8 µg/g. The obtained results were found to be a fast, reliable, and semi-automated sample pre-treatment technique with good extraction efficiency, trace level detection limit, and less matrix effect. Therefore, this method can be applied as a potential analytical method to determine the VOAs in humans exposed to long-term cooking oil fumes.
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Aldehídos , Neoplasias , Humanos , Ratones , Animales , Aldehídos/toxicidad , Aldehídos/análisis , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Gases , Pulmón/química , CulinariaRESUMEN
Human biomonitoring (HBM) provides information to identify chemicals that need to be assessed regarding potential health risks to human populations. We established a population-representative sample in Taiwan, namely the Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants (TESTs) in 2013-2016. In total, 1871 participants (aged 7-97 years) were recruited from throughout Taiwan. A questionnaire survey was applied to obtain individuals' demographic characteristics, and urine samples were obtained to assess metal concentrations. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to determine concentrations of urinary As (total), Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Tl, and Zn. The purpose of this study was to establish the human urinary reference levels (RVs) for metals in the general population of Taiwan. We found that median concentrations of urinary Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn in males were statistically significant (p < 0.05) higher than in females (Cu: 11.48 vs. 10.00 µg/L; Fe: 11.48 vs. 10.46 µg/L; Pb: 0.87 vs. 0.76 µg/L; and Zn: 448.93 vs. 348.35 µg/L). On the contrary, Cd and Co were significantly lower in males than in females (Cd: 0.61 vs. 0.64 µg/L; and Co: 0.27 vs. 0.40 µg/L). Urinary Cd levels in the ≥18-year-old group (0.69 µg/L) were significantly higher than those in the 7-17-year-old group (0.49 µg/L, p < 0.001). Among the investigated metals, most were significantly higher in the 7-17-year-old group than in the ≥18-year-old group, except for Cd, Ga, and Pb. Participants who lived in central Taiwan had higher median levels of urinary Cd, Cu, Ga, Ni, and Zn than those in other regions. Median levels of urinary As, Cd, Pb, and Se were significantly higher in participants who lived in harbor (94.12 µg/L), suburban (0.68 µg/L), industrial (0.92 µg/L), and rural (50.29 µg/L) areas, respectively, than the others who lived in other areas. RV95 percentiles of urinary metals (ng/mL) for 7-17/≥18-year-old groups were As (346.9/370.0), Cd (1.41/2.21), Co (2.30/1.73), Cr (0.88/0.88), Cu (28.02/22.78), Fe (42.27/42.36), Ga (0.13/0.12), In (0.05/0.04), Mn (3.83/2.91), Ni (8.09/6.17), Pb (8.09/5.75), Se (122.4/101.9), Sr (556.5/451.3), Tl (0.57/0.49), and Zn (1314.6/1058.8). In this study, we have highlighted the importance of As, Cd, Pb, and Mn exposure in the general population of Taiwan. The established RV95 of urinary metals in Taiwanese would be fundamental information to promote the reduction of metal exposure or policy intervention. We concluded that urinary levels of exposure to certain metals in the general Taiwanese population varied by sex, age, region, and urbanization level. References of metal exposure in Taiwan were established in the current study.
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Cadmio , Metales Pesados , Masculino , Femenino , Humanos , Adolescente , Niño , Cadmio/orina , Monitoreo Biológico , Taiwán , Plomo/análisis , Valores de Referencia , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Sustancias Peligrosas , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Metales Pesados/análisisRESUMEN
Over the last several decades, plasticizers have seamlessly integrated themselves into our daily routines, permeating a vast array of commonly encountered products such as food containers, toys, medicines, building materials, electronic devices, cosmetics, perfumes, and personal care items [...].
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Identifying the risk of ochratoxin A in our daily food has become fundamental because of its toxicity. In this work, we report a novel semi-automated in-syringe-based fast mycotoxin extraction (IS-FaMEx) technique coupled with direct-injection electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometer (ESI-MS/MS) detection for the quantification of ochratoxin A in coffee and tea samples. Under the optimized conditions, the results reveal that the developed method's linearity was more remarkable, with a correlation coefficient of > 0.999 and > 92% extraction recovery with a precision of 6%. The detection and quantification limits for ochratoxin A were 0.2 and 0.8 ng g-1 for the developed method, respectively, which is lower than the European Union regulatory limit of toxicity for ochratoxin-A (5 ng g-1) in coffee. Furthermore, the newly developed modified IS-FaMEx-ESI-MS/MS exhibited lower signal suppression of 8% with a good green metric score of 0.64. In addition, the IS-FaMEx-ESI-MS/MS showed good extraction recovery, matrix elimination, good detection, and quantification limits with high accuracy and precision due to the fewer extraction steps with semi-automation. Therefore, the presented method can be applied as a potential methodology for the detection of mycotoxins in food products for food safety and quality control purposes. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05733-z.
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Assessing the impact of human exposure to environmental toxicants is often crucial to biomonitoring the exposed dose. In this work, we report a novel fast urinary metabolites extraction (FaUMEx) technique coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS analysis for the highly sensitive and simultaneous biomonitoring of the five major urinary metabolites (thiodiglycolic acid, s-phenylmercapturic acid, t,t-muconic acid, mandelic acid, and phenyl glyoxylic acid) of common volatile organic compounds' (VOCs) exposure (vinyl chloride, benzene, styrene, and ethylbenzene) in human. FaUMEx technique comprises of two-steps, liquid-liquid microextraction was performed first in an extraction syringe using 1 mL of methanol (pH 3) as an extraction solvent and then, the extractant was passed through a clean-up syringe (pre-packed-with various sorbents including 500 mg anhydrous MgSO4, 50 mg C18, and 50 mg SiO2) to obtain the high order of matrice clean-up and preconcentration efficiency. The developed method displayed excellent linearity, and the correlation coefficients were >0.998 for all the target metabolites with detection and quantification limits of 0.02-0.24 ng mL-1 and 0.05-0.72 ng mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, the matrix effects were < ±5%, and inter and intra-day precision were <9%. Moreover, the presented method was applied and validated to real sample analysis for biomonitoring of VOC's exposure levels. The results showed that the developed FaUMEx-UHPLC-MS/MS method is fast, simple, low-cost, low-solvent consumption, high sensitivity with good accuracy and precision for five targeted urinary VOCs' metabolites. Therefore, the presented dual-syringe mode FaUMEx strategy with UHPLC-MS/MS technique can be applied to biomonitoring of various urinary metabolites to assess human exposure to environmental toxicants.
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Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Compuestos Orgánicos Volátiles , Humanos , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Monitoreo Biológico , Jeringas , Dióxido de SilicioRESUMEN
In this study, we demonstrated a novel semi-automated in-syringe-based coagulant-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (IS-CGA-LLME) as fast mycotoxin extraction (FaMEx) technique coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography connected with a tandem-mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS/MS) for the quantification of mycotoxin (Ochratoxin A, OT-A) in coffee and tea samples. IS-CGA-LLME is a three-step extraction process that includes extraction of OT-A from sample matrix using low-volume solvent extraction, then the extractant was cleaned-up using a coagulation process, and finally, the decolorized/matrix removed sample solution was processed for LLME for target analyte's pre-concentration. The final extractant was analyzed using UHPLC-MS/MS for OT-A quantification. Under the optimized experimental conditions, highly sensitive detection and quantification limits were obtained at 0.001 and 0.003 ng g-1 for OT-A with excellent extraction recovery (93-111%) and precision <10%. These results proved that the developed method is a simple, highly sensitive, semi-automated, low-matrix effect and efficient procedure for the determination of mycotoxins in food samples.
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Micotoxinas , Micotoxinas/análisis , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Café/química , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Jeringas , TéRESUMEN
In this work, a fast mycotoxin extraction (FaMEx) technique was developed for the rapid identification and quantification of carcinogenic ochratoxin-A (OTA) in food (coffee and tea) and agricultural soil samples using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) detection. The FaMEx technique advancement is based on two plastic syringes integrated setup for rapid extraction and its subsequent controlled clean-up process. In the extraction process, a 0.25-g sample and extraction solvent were added to the first syringe barrel for the vortex-based extraction. Then, the extraction syringe was connected to a clean-up syringe (pre-packed with C18, activated carbon, and MgSO4) with a syringe filter. Afterward, the whole set-up was placed in an automated programmable mechanical set-up for controlled elution. To enhance FaMEx technology performance, the various influencing sample pretreatment parameters were optimized. Furthermore, the developed FaMEx method indicated excellent linearity (0.9998 and 0.9996 for coffee/tea and soil) with highly sensitive detection (0.30 and 0.29 ng/mL for coffee/tea and soil) and quantification limits (1.0 and 0.96 for coffee/tea and soil), which is lower than the toxicity limit compliant with the European Union regulation for OTA (5 ng/g). The method showed acceptable relative recovery (84.48 to 100.59%) with <7.34% of relative standard deviation for evaluated real samples, and the matrix effects were calculated as <-13.77% for coffee/tea and -9.7 for soil samples. The obtained results revealed that the developed semi-automated FaMEx/UHPLC-MS/MS technique is easy, fast, low-cost, sensitive, and precise for mycotoxin detection in food and environmental samples.
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Micotoxinas , Ocratoxinas , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Micotoxinas/análisis , Ocratoxinas/análisis , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Café/química , Jeringas , Suelo , Té/químicaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: School-aged children living near plastics-producing factories may have higher risk of exposure to phthalates released during the manufacturing processes. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites in school-aged children living near a petrochemical complex and estimate the cumulative risk of phthalate exposure. METHODS: We used a well-established cohort (Taiwan Petrochemical Complex Cohort for Children, TPE3C) of school-aged children (6-13 years old) living near polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) factories in central Taiwan from October 2013 to September 2014. A total of 257 children were included from five elementary schools: Syu-Cuo Branch (n = 58, school A, ~0.9 km), Feng-An (n = 40, school B, ~2.7 km), Ciao-Tou (n = 58, school C, ~5.5 km), Mai-Liao (n = 37, school D, ~6.9 km), and Lung-Feng (n = 57, school E, ~8.6 km). We analyzed 11 metabolites of seven phthalates (including di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP)) in urine. Daily intakes (DIs) were compared with acceptable intake levels to calculate the hazard quotient (HQ) for individual phthalates, and the cumulative risk for each child was assessed using a hazard index (HI), which was the sum of the the individual HQs. RESULTS: The geometric mean and proportion of participants with HIs exceeding one for hepatic (HIhep) and reproductive (HIrep) effects were 0.33 (13.2%) and 0.24 (7.8%), respectively. The major contributors to phthalate exposure risk were DEHP, di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP) and DnBP in all children. Moreover, we observed a U shaped distribution of DEHP exposure by school distance from the PVC and VCM factories (school A: 7.48 µg/kg/day and school E: 80.44 µg/kg/day). This may be due to emissions (closest) and and being located downwind of PVC scrap incineration (farthest). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that children living near a petrochemical complex were at a greater risk of phthalate exposure than normal school-aged children and that phthalate exposure was mainly attributed to DEHP, DiBP and DnBP. In addition, inhalation may have been a risk factor for people living near to PVC and VCM factories.
RESUMEN
Nicotine is the most prominent psychoactive/addictive chemical substance consumed worldwide among young players in team sports. Moreover, urinary nicotine discharge and nicotine-based products disposal in environmental waters has been unavoidable in recent years. Therefore, sensitive monitoring of nicotine content in environmental waters and human urine samples is essential. In this study, we developed a miniaturized novel green, low-cost, sensitive, in-syringe-based semi-automated fast drug extraction (FaDEx) protocol coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for the efficient environmental and bio-monitoring of nicotine in aqueous samples. The FaDEx method consists of two steps; firstly, the target analyte was extracted using dimethyl carbonate (a green solvent) and extraction salts. After that, the extraction solvent was passed automatically through the solid-phase extraction cartridge at a constant flow rate for the cleanup process to achieve the sensitive nicotine analysis by GC-FID. Under optimized experimental conditions, the developed method showed excellent linearity over the concentration ranges between 20-2000 ng mL-1 with a correlation coefficient >0.99. The detection and quantification limits were 4 and 20 ng mL-1, respectively. The presented method was applied to monitor and assess nicotine exposure in sports-persons' urine and environmental water samples. The method accuracy and precision in terms of relative recovery and relative standard deviation (for triplicate analysis) were 85.4-110.2% and ≤8%, respectively. Finally, the impact of our procedure on the environment from a green analytical chemistry view was assessed using a novel metric system called AGREE, and obtained the greenness score of 0.87, indicating its an efficient alternative green analytical protocol for routine environmental and bio-monitoring of nicotine in environmental and biological samples.
Asunto(s)
Nicotina , Agua , Humanos , Nicotina/análisis , Monitoreo Biológico , Límite de Detección , Extracción en Fase Sólida/métodos , Solventes , Psicotrópicos/análisisRESUMEN
In this work, we demonstrated a new, environmental-friendly and effective sample preparation strategy named 'in-syringe-assisted fast pesticides extraction (FaPEx)' technique coupled with LC-MS/MS for the rapid identification and monitoring of emerging pollutant fipronil and its metabolite fipronil sulfone in chicken egg and environmental soil samples. FaPEx strategy comprising of two simple steps. Firstly, the sample was placed in the syringe and extracted using low-volume acetonitrile with NaCl and anhydrous MgSO4 salts. Secondly, the extractant was passed through in-syringe-based solid-phase extraction (SPE) kit containing cleanup sorbents and salt combinations (C18, primary secondary amine, and anhydrous MgSO4) for the cleanup process. Then, the obtained clean extractant was injected into LC-MS/MS for the quantification of target analytes. Various important parameters influencing the FaPEx performances, such as solvent type, salt type, salt amount, sorbent type, and amount, were examined and optimized. The method validation results showed excellent linearity with high correlation coefficients were ≥ 0.99. The estimated LODs were between 0.05-0.07 µg/kg, and LOQs ranged between 0.1-0.25 µg/kg for target analytes in both egg and soil sample matrices, and precision values were ≤7.90%. The developed method was applied to commercial chicken egg samples and environmental soil samples analysis. Spiked recoveries ranged between 88.75-110.91% for egg samples with RSDs ≤7.42% and 82.47-107.46% for soil samples with RSDs <7.37%. These results proved that the developed sample preparation method is a simple, fast, green, low-cost, and efficient method for the analysis of fipronil and its metabolites in food and environmental samples. Thus, this method can be applied as an alternative analytical methodology in routine and standard food and environmental testing laboratories.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Ambientales , Plaguicidas , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Cromatografía Liquida , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Extracción en Fase Sólida/métodos , SueloRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) may be strongly associated with disease progression and recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). However, the research on associations of most OSBs (e.g., 8-nitroguanine [8-NO2Gua] and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-mercapturic acid [HNE-MA]) with RPL is limited. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of OSBs exposure on RPL risk by performing a case-control study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We use our established dataset, Taiwan Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Environmental Study (TREPLES), which included 514 Taiwanese reproductive age women (aged 20-50 years; 397 cases and 117 controls) from National Cheng Kung University Hospital. RPL is clinically defined by a history of two or more consecutive miscarriages, where a miscarriage is defined as the termination of pregnancy before 20 weeks of gestation. The urinary levels of several OSBs (e.g., 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG], 8-NO2Gua, 8-isoprostaglandin F2α [8-isoPGF2α], and HNE-MA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured using isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, respectively. RESULTS: The median levels of 8-NO2Gua (6.15 vs. 3.76 ng/mL) and HNE-MA (30.12 and 21.54 ng/mL) were significantly higher in the RPL group than in the control group. By categorizing the OSBs data into tertiles, after we adjusted for age and urine creatinine levels discovered that the RPL risk associated with 8-NO2Gua and HNE-MA levels in the third tertile were approximately 2 times higher than those in the first tertile (8-NO2Gua, adjusted OR = 3.27, 95 % CI = 1.66-6.43; HNE-MA, adjusted OR = 1.96, 95 % CI = 1.05-3.64; p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the oxidative stress biomarkers of 8-NO2Gua and HNE-MA are risk factors for RPL. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that specific OSBs are associated with an increased RPL risk, suggesting that reducing OSB levels can improve RPL risk. Nevertheless, more studies on preventive medicine are required to understand the exposure sources and adverse outcome pathways of OSBs associated with RPL.