Physiologically based kinetic model for assessing intermittent chronic internal exposure to chemicals: Application for disinfection by-products in swimming pool water

Co-PBK: a computational biomonitoring tool for assessing chronic internal exposure to chemicals and metabolites

“…Based on current PBK models, 43,44 Fig. 1 depicts the proposed general modeling framework for simulating the parent chemical and its metabolites in the human body.…”

“…Consequently, the proposed modeling approach, namely, the metabolite-improved PBK model, couples the simulation processes of the parent compound (entering the body via external exposure) and its metabolites (formed via biotransformation in the liver). Given that all chemical uptake and elimination processes in the body (such as advection via blood transport and biotransformation via hepatic metabolism) can be described by rst-order kinetics, the rst-order kinetic-based PBK modeling matrix was used to couple the fate modeling of the parent compound and its metabolites, 43,44 which can be expressed as follows:…”

“…The average metabolite mass in human compartments (e.g., blood and urine) can also be used to assess the population health risk associated with the parent compound as an alternative to the time-dependent metabolite mass used to calculate the half-life of dissipation in human bodies. 44 The incorporation of the daily intake rate of the parent compound in the PBK modeling matrices indicates the continual mass ow of the parent compound in the human body. In real-world situations, human exposure to PAHs can take the form of a pulse.…”

“…This approach was adopted in our previous modeling studies. 44,65 Although the primary purpose of pulmonary circulation is to facilitate gas exchange (such as oxygen and carbon dioxide) between the human body and the external environment, it also has the ability to transport chemicals to the lung tissue. 35 Therefore, conducting a comprehensive investigation into the roles of both bronchial and pulmonary circulation in the biotransfer modeling of chemicals within the lung tissue can be valuable in accurately describing the fate and distribution of these chemicals in the human lung.…”

“…To establish a bridge linking diet and lifestyle to pollutant exposure through the difference in activity modes, the distribution of chemicals may be diverse from the behavioral habit during daily life. Li et al 44 proposed a modeling method for quantifying the population exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) when swimming in a pool, which would further differentiate their transfer and distribution in the body via diverse behaviors (e.g., drinking water and showering). Meanwhile, dietary ingestion is the leading cause of population exposure to toxic chemicals sourced from food production, 72 especially people who have a specic dietary style, such as drinking water with teabags 73 and eating grilled food.…”