Silicone Wristbands in Exposure Assessment: Analytical Considerations and Comparison with Other Approaches

Abstract

Humans are exposed to numerous potentially harmful chemicals throughout their lifetime. Although many studies have addressed this issue, the data on chronic exposure is still lacking. Hence, there is a growing interest in methods and tools allowing to longitudinally track personal exposure to multiple chemicals via different routes. Since the seminal work by O’Connell et al. (2014), silicone wristbands (WBs) have been increasingly used to facilitate human exposure assessment, as using WBs as a wearable sampler offers new insights into measuring chemical risks involved in many ambient and occupational scenarios. However, the literature lacks a detailed overview regarding methodologies being used; a comprehensive comparison with other approaches of personal exposure assessment is needed as well. Therefore, the aim of this review is fourfold. First, we summarize hitherto conducted research that employed silicone WBs as personal passive samplers. Second, all pre-analytical and analytical steps used to obtain exposure data are discussed. Third, we compare main characteristics of WBs with key features of selected matrices used in exposure assessment, namely urine, blood, hand wipes, active air sampling, and settled dust. Finally, we discuss future needs of research employing silicone WBs. Our work shows a variety of possibilities, advantages, and caveats associated with employment of silicone WBs as personal passive samplers. Although further research is necessary, silicone WBs have already been proven valuable as a tool for longitudinal assessment of personal exposure.

Silicone Wristband Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Combined Exposome and Metabolome Profiling

“…Silicone wristbands (SWs) have been adopted as promising wearable devices with monitoring capabilities [5–15] . Previous studies have demonstrated the relationships between phenol biomarkers found in urine and their corresponding residue on the wristband surface [5–7] .…”

“…SWs have emerged as promising external and noninvasive sampling devices in contact with the air and skin. They can passively estimate personalized exposure profiles captured in multiple microenvironments through dermal absorption or environmental pathways [8,11–13] . SWs are lightweight, convenient for human and animal participants to use, and can be mailed back and forth for analysis, admittedly with some loss of volatile species [14,15] …”

“…Silicone wristbands (SWs) have been adopted as promising wearable devices with monitoring capabilities. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Previous studies have demonstrated the relationships between phenol biomarkers found in urine and their corresponding residue on the wristband surface. [5][6][7] Recent studies are moving toward the use of SWs as external, inexpensive, simple, and noninvasive sampling devices for effectively recapitulating human exposures without dietary interferences.…”

“…They can passively estimate personalized exposure profiles captured in multiple microenvironments through dermal absorption or environmental pathways. [8,[11][12][13] SWs are lightweight, convenient for human and animal participants to use, and can be mailed back and forth for analysis, admittedly with some loss of volatile species. [14,15] Recent studies demonstrated that polymer-based spray ionization coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) provides a promising approach for molecular and metabolic profiling and quantitation of biological fluids.…”

Associating Increased Chemical Exposure to Hurricane Harvey in a Longitudinal Panel Using Silicone Wristbands

“…Several studies reported associations between wristband concentrations and environmental exposures; for example, Paulik et al found that individuals living close to unconventional natural-gas drilling had higher concentrations than those individuals living farther away [ 21 ]. In addition to capturing short- and long-term exposures [ 20 ], silicone wristbands are minimally invasive to participants, easy to use, and stable for transport in hot and cold conditions [ 17 , 20 , 22 , 23 ]. Additionally, they can be partnered with demographic and location data to determine associations between potential chemical exposure and health outcomes [ 24 ].…”