Reconstructing exposures from biomarkers using exposure-pharmacokinetic modeling--A case study with carbaryl.

Sources of uncertainty involved in exposure reconstruction for short half-life chemicals were characterized using computational models that link external exposures to biomarkers. Using carbaryl as an example, an exposure model, the Cumulative and Aggregate Risk Evaluation System (CARES), was used to generate time-concentration profiles for 500 virtual individuals exposed to carbaryl. These exposure profiles were used as inputs into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to predict urinary biomarker concentrations. These matching dietary intake levels and biomarker concentrations were used to (1) compare three reverse dosimetry approaches based on their ability to predict the central tendency of the intake dose distribution; and (2) identify parameters necessary for a more accurate exposure reconstruction. This study illustrates the trade-offs between using non-iterative reverse dosimetry methods that are fast, less precise and iterative methods that are slow, more precise. This study also intimates the necessity of including urine flow rate and elapsed time between last dose and urine sampling as part of the biomarker sampling collection for better interpretation of urinary biomarker data of short biological half-life chemicals. Resolution of these critical data gaps can allow exposure reconstruction methods to better predict population-level intake doses from large biomonitoring studies.

Assessment of absorbed doses of carbaryl and associated health risks in a group of horticultural greenhouse workers.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to estimate the absorbed doses of carbaryl and the associated health risks in a group of horticultural greenhouse workers in the Province of Quebec, Canada, using a toxicokinetic modeling approach. METHODS: A mathematical model was developed to relate the absorbed dose of carbaryl, the evolution of its body burden and that of its metabolites and the urinary excretion rate of biomarkers. The free parameters of this model were determined using published time course data in volunteers exposed to carbaryl under controlled conditions. The model was used to determine cumulative urinary amounts of 1-naphthol that would be excreted by a typical worker exposed to a pre-established no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) dose; this biomarker amount was then taken as a biological reference value below which the risks of health effects were considered negligible. As a measure of the applicability of this approach to practical situations, the model was used to estimate the dose of carbaryl absorbed by each greenhouse worker, starting from his/her cumulative urinary excretion time courses of 1-naphthol over a 24-h period following the onset of a work exposure. Their cumulative 1-naphthol levels were then compared to the biological reference value obtained from the model and the NOAEL dose. RESULTS: Following the onset of a work exposure to carbaryl, a clear increase in the urinary excretion rate of 1-naphthol was observed in most workers. The reconstructed absorbed doses were found to vary between 3.3 and 143 nmol/kg of body weight (bw) depending on the working conditions. Simulations of the observed cumulative urinary excretion time course of each worker also showed that exposure appeared to occur mainly (a) through inhalation for the applicators and individuals without direct contact with treated plants and (b) through the dermal route for individuals manipulating treated plants. Although the workers under study clearly appeared to have been exposed to carbaryl in the greenhouses, 24-h cumulative 1-naphthol levels ranged from 4.8 to 65.1% of the proposed biological reference value of 32 nmol/kg bw in 24-h urine collections following the onset of a work exposure. CONCLUSION: This suggests that the workers under study probably did not incur a serious health risk under the normal exposure conditions prevailing during the study period.

Pontine myelinolysis in a child with carbamate poisoning.

Carbamate and organophosphate pesticides are widely used all over the world. Poisoning with these substances may produce both immediate and delayed neurotoxic effects. We report the case of a 4-year-old boy who was admitted to the Pediatric Department of the Second University of Naples for evaluation of stupor, lethargy, severe hypotonia, generalized weakness of his arms and legs, ataxia, dysmetria, miosis, excessive salivation and tearing. The pesticide carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate) was identified in blood and urine samples. On admission, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was unremarkable; on day 11, MRI showed central pontine myelinolysis. The demyelination improved after 4 months and disappeared after 2 years. Various underlying and concomitant diseases have been described in children with central pontine myelinolysis but, to our knowledge, the finding of pontine myelinolysis after carbamate poisoning has not yet been described.

Gas chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method for the quantitation of carbofuran, carbaryl and their main metabolites in applicators' urine.

A new gas chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed and validated for the determination of two N-methylcarbamates, carbofuran and carbaryl and their metabolites in applicators' urine specimens. Mild conditions were used for sample preparation based on enzymic hydrolysis and solid-phase extraction using Oasis HLB sorbent cartridges. Amides, phenols and ketones were first converted to volatile derivatives of trifluoroacetic acid anhydride (TFAA) and afterwards were quantitated using tandem mass spectrometry. Linear calibration equations (1-200 ng mL(-1) urine) were obtained from fortified urine samples for all eight compounds, carbaryl, 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol, and carbofuran, 3-hydroxycarbofuran, 7-phenol, carbofuran-3-keto, 3- hydroxycarbofuranphenol. For all compounds, the limit of detection was lower than 0.1 ng mL(-1). Precision for all compounds, at the concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 ng mL(-1) (n = 5) in-fortified urine samples ranged from 0.7% to 18%. Accuracy was calculated at two concentrations 8 and 80 ng mL(-1) (n = 5) and ranged from -8.4% to 8.2%. Relative recoveries at concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 ng mL(-1), ranged from 71% to 116%. The method was successfully applied to five male applicators and 10 non-applicators (including both smokers and non-smokers).

Temporal variability of urinary levels of nonpersistent insecticides in adult men.

Widespread application of contemporary-use insecticides results in low-level exposure for a majority of the population through a variety of pathways. Urinary insecticide biomarkers account for all exposure pathways, but failure to account for temporal within-subject variability of urinary levels can lead to exposure misclassification. To examine temporal variability in urinary markers of contemporary-use insecticides, nine repeated urine samples were collected over 3 months from 10 men participating in an ongoing study of male reproductive health. These 90 samples were analyzed for urinary metabolites of chlorpyrifos (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY)) and carbaryl (1-naphthol (1N)). Volume- based (unadjusted), as well as creatinine (CRE)- and specific gravity (SG)-adjusted concentrations were measured. TCPY had low reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient between 0.15 and 0.21, while 1N was moderately reliable with an intraclass correlation coefficient between 0.55 and 0.61. When the 10 men were divided into tertiles based on 3-month geometric mean TCPY and 1N levels, a single urine sample performed adequately in classifying a subject into the highest or lowest exposure tertiles. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 0.44 to 0.84 for TCPY and from 0.56 to 0.89 for 1N. Some differences in the results between unadjusted metabolite concentrations and concentrations adjusted for CRE and SG were observed. Questionnaires were used to assess diet in the 24 h preceding the collection of each urine sample. In mixed-effects models, TCPY was significantly associated with season as well as with consuming grapes and cheese, while 1N levels were associated with consuming strawberries. In conclusion, although a single sample adequately predicted longer-term average exposure, a second sample collected at least 1 month following the first sample would reduce exposure measurement error.

Urinary levels of insecticide metabolites and DNA damage in human sperm.

BACKGROUND: Members of the general population are exposed to non-persistent insecticides at low levels. The present study explored whether environmental exposures to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos are associated with DNA damage in human sperm. METHODS: Subjects (n=260) were recruited through a Massachusetts infertility clinic. Individual exposures were measured as spot urinary metabolite concentrations of chlorpyrifos [3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY)] and carbaryl [1-naphthol (1N)], adjusted using specific gravity. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed by neutral comet assay and reported as comet extent, percentage DNA in comet tail (Tail%) and tail distributed moment (TDM). RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in Tail% was found for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in both 1N [coefficient=4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-6.3] and TCPY (2.8; 0.9-4.6), while a decrease in TDM was associated with IQR changes in 1N (-2.2; -4.9 to 0.5) and TCPY (-2.5; -4.7 to -0.2). A negative correlation between Tail% and TDM was present only when stratified by comet extent, suggesting that Tail% and TDM may measure different types of DNA damage within comet extent strata. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos may be associated with increased DNA damage in human sperm, as indicated by a change in comet assay parameters.

[Simultaneous determination of carbaryl and propanil in human serum and urine by on-line column-switching technique followed by automatic reversed-phase HPLC].

Carbaryl and propanil in human serum and urine were determined by automatic on-line column enrichment technique followed by reversed-phase HPLC with photometric detection. Human serum was filtered through a membrane filter (0.45 micron pore size) and an aliquot of 0.1 ml of the filtrate was diluted with water up to 1 ml. The solution of 0.8 ml was directly injected to automatic HPLC without any preparation. Urine was incubated with beta-glucuronidase/arylsulfate for 16 hours at 37 degrees C. The resultant solution was then filtered through a membrane filter and the filtrate was analyzed by the similar manner as serum. Carbaryl and propanil in the sample solution were concentrated on a pre-conditioned ODS mini-column. After washing the mini-column with 5% methanol, they were separated by an ODS analytical column (Cosmosil 5 C18-MS, 250 x 4.6 mm i.d.) with acetonitrile/water (30:70, v/v) eluent and detected with a UV detector. Carbaryl and propanil in serum were detected at 220 and 210 nm, respectively. On the other hand, in order to separate from blank peaks, carbaryl and propanil in urine were detected at 290 and 260 nm, respectively. The presented HPLC method requires neither manual procedure of solid-phase nor liquid-liquid extraction. Calibration curves for carbaryl and propanil were linear over the range of 5 ng/ml-2 micrograms/ml in both serum and urine. Real serum (ng/ml level) and urine (microgram/ml level) samples were analyzed by the presented HPLC method. Effect of seventeen pesticides on the determination of carbaryl and propanil were investigated. All pesticides did not interfere with the determination except for thiuram.

Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic determination of carbaryl in postmortem specimens.

A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the analysis of carbaryl in postmortem samples. It involves the use of an aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase to give rapid, reproducible analyses and an external standard for quantitation. Two separate extraction procedures (Extrelut column and protein precipitation with acetonitrile) are described; each one is suited to a particular substrate and each one leads to an almost complete recovery of carbaryl from that substrate.

Percutaneous penetration of three insecticides in rats: a comparison of two methods for in vivo determination.

Percutaneous penetration of three insecticides was studied by two methods. The indirect (excretion analysis) and direct (skin patch removal) methods for determining penetration were compared in rats. Radiolabeled solutions of parathion, carbaryl, and DDT were applied to previously shaved rats at the rate of 4 micrograms/cm2. Recoveries of radioactivity in urine, feces, application site, and various tissues were measured at intervals over a 5-day period. Urinary excretion rates were corrected for incomplete excretion by intraperitoneal applications. In the 5 days following intraperitoneal administration, the urinary excretion of parathion and carbaryl was greater than 80% while less than 5% of DDT was excreted. A good correlation was found between the indirect and direct methods utilized to determine percutaneous absorption rates with the compounds tested at the later time intervals. All compounds showed more than 85% dermal penetration within 5 days. At the early time intervals (greater than 24 h), penetration by the direct method was significantly greater for parathion and carbaryl than by the indirect method.

Excretion and disposition of [14C]carbaryl in pregnant, non-pregnant and foetal tissues of the rat after acute administration.

1. Non-pregnant or pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats on the 18th and 19th days of gestation were injected i.p. with a tracter dose (2.8 microCi/kg) of either [ring-14C]carbaryl or [carbonyl-14C]carbaryl. Distribution of total 14C was examined in foetal, maternal and non-pregnant rat tissues. Pregnancy alters the disposition and excretion of carbaryl. 2. Carbaryl crossed the placenta and was rapidly distributed in all foetal tissues. Highest concentrations were seen in foetal kidney. At 8 h after injection, foetal brain, heart and lung all contained more 14C, on a weight basis, than their maternal organ counterparts. Elimination from the whole foetus was biphasic, and after 8 h approx. 3% of the dose was still present in the whole foetus. 3. Significantly more 14CO2 was exhaled by the pregnant rat during 8 h than by non-pregnant. Urinary excretion of 14C after dosage with [ring-14C]carbaryl was significantly less in pregnant than in non-pregnant rats. 4. Kinetically, the tissue distribution of 14C from carbaryl or metabolites was biphasic in pregnant and non-pregnant animals. [14C]carbaryl concn. declined rapidly for 1 to 2 h. After 2 h the 14C levels from animals dosed with [ring-14C]carbaryl declined more slowly. 5. The pattern of 14C distribution was more complicated after injection of [carbonyl-14C]carbaryl. The 14C activity increased in the animal tissues after 2 h, in contrast to animals dosed with [ring-14C]carbaryl. Non-pregnant animals treated with [carbonyl-14C]carbaryl did not show a similar pattern of distribution. Carbamylated tissue proteins may, after time, release some bound carbonyl-14C label, causing the increase in 14C activity seen between 2 and 8 h. However, this does not necessarily imply uptake of the intact carbamate.