Differential exposure to organophosphate flame retardants in mother-child pairs

Abstract

Background: Humans are ubiquitously exposed to flame retardants, including organophosphate esters (OPEs), through direct contact with consumer products or exposure through household dust.Children are at increased risk because of their proximity to dust, hand-to-mouth activity, and the importance of childhood as a critical period in neurodevelopment.Objectives: To quantify differences in exposure levels between mothers and children (three to six years of age), we analyzed urinary metabolites of OPEs. We additionally assessed the ability of silicone wristbands (measuring ambient exposure) to predict urinary metabolite concentrations. Methods: We selected 32 mother and child dyads from an existing cohort. Participants provided baseline urine samples and wore wristbands for one week. After the first week, they returned their wristbands and provided a second urine sample. During the second week, participants wore a second wristband that they returned at the end of week two with a third and final urine sample. Results:We found significantly higher levels of bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCIPP) (p < 0.001) and lower levels of bis(1-chloro-2-isopropyl) I-hydroxy-2-propyl phosphate (BCIPHIPP) (p < 0.001) in children's urine samples compared to mothers' samples at baseline. We found that triphenylphosphate (TPHP), tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) measured in wristbands predicted their respective metabolite levels in urine.

Assessment of Multipollutant Exposures During Pregnancy Using Silicone Wristbands

“…We used data from these wristbands to learn about chemical exposures in this population, including common chemical exposures, relations between chemical exposures, predictors of chemical exposures, and common chemical exposure profiles. Our findings suggest that these silicone wristbands can be successfully deployed within sensitive populations to assess multipollutant exposures, extending the potential uses of this technology beyond previously successful investigations ( 15 , 16 , 18 , 21 – 23 ).…”

“…However, relative to traditional biomarkers, the wristbands have the considerable advantage of enabling the assessment of multitudes of chemical pollutants in a single passive instrument. While previous studies have demonstrated promising relations between specific classes of exposures [e.g., PAHs (16), nicotine (67), organophosphate flame retardants (21,68)] assessed in wristbands and traditional biomarkers of exposure, to our knowledge, no work has yet assessed relations between the broad screen of chemicals used in our study with traditional biomarkers, and this is an important area for future research.…”

“…This emerging technology has been applied in several settings (15), including the assessment of exposures to flame retardants among maternal-child pairs (21) and school children (18) and the assessment of exposures to pesticides among agricultural workers (22) and non-occupationally exposed persons (23). However, there is limited evidence characterizing their use among pregnant populations; to date, a single study has used the wristbands to assess exposures to PAHs among pregnant women (16) and no studies have reported on their use to assess multipollutant exposures of many chemical classes.…”

The critical factors affecting typical organophosphate flame retardants to mimetic biomembrane: An integrated in vitro and in silico study

“…The high concentration of compound caused the impedance reduction as the compound acted as a medium between the electrode and probe. In order to determine the optimal concentration of OPFRs on the membrane, impedance values of eleven OPFRs were measured with three concentration gradients (0.3 nM, 1.5 nM and 3.0 nM) (Table S3) (Gibson et al, 2019). Cluster analysis of different concentration was revealed by a heatmap.…”

Optimized workflow for unknown screening using gas chromatography high‐resolution mass spectrometry expands identification of contaminants in silicone personal passive samplers

“…Silicone wristbands have become a popular noninvasive technique for assessing personal exposure to environmental organic contaminants in children 1–6 and adults 7–28 . The wristband samplers are generally worn for a 7‐day period to capture a wide range of chemicals that represent typical environmental exposures.…”