Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Industrial Innovation Group, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium; University of Antwerp, Toxicological Centre, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
University of Antwerp, Toxicological Centre, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
Sci Total Environ. 2015 Feb 1;505:1062-71. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.043. Epub 2014 Nov 11.
In this study, we investigated the hypothesis whether externally adsorbed and internally deposited flame retardants (FRs) in hair could be distinguished. To this extent, hair samples collected from one volunteer were exposed under controlled conditions to phosphate FR (PFR) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) standards to mimic external contamination. Afterwards, suitable washing procedures to selectively remove contaminants from the hair surface were investigated. The samples were measured by GC-(ECNI)-MS for PBDEs and LC-(ESI+)-MS/MS for PFRs. All investigated compounds were transferred onto the hair surface. One of the most important finding was that dust particles are not mandatory to transfer compounds on the hair surface and to be able to measure high levels of compounds in human hair. To assess different protocols to selectively remove external contamination, the exposed hair samples were washed in different media before analysis: water, methanol, hexane:dichloromethane (1:1, v/v), acetone and shampoo. Results indicated that there is no washing medium able to entirely and exclusively remove external contamination. Among investigated media, methanol removed a meaningful part of the external contamination (42-105%), but the removal efficiencies differed among compounds. We therefore concluded that hair should not be washed prior to analysis and in case of visible contamination (e.g. with cosmetic products), water would be the recommended agent. Organic solvents should not be used for the washing step. Although it is impossible to distinguish external from internal exposure, hair samples may be used as valuable biomarker of human exposure, providing a measure of integral exposure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which has used externally exposed hair samples to PBDEs and PFRs.
在这项研究中，我们调查了一个假设，即是否可以区分头发中吸附在外部和沉积在内部的阻燃剂（FRs）。为此，我们从一名志愿者收集的头发样本在受控条件下暴露于磷酸盐阻燃剂（PFR）和多溴二苯醚（PBDE）标准品中，以模拟外部污染。之后，研究了适当的洗涤程序以选择性地从头发表面去除污染物。通过 GC-(ECNI)-MS 测量 PBDEs，通过 LC-(ESI+)-MS/MS 测量 PFRs。所有研究的化合物都转移到了头发表面。一个最重要的发现是，灰尘颗粒并不是将化合物转移到头发表面并能够在人发中测量高浓度化合物的必要条件。为了评估选择性去除外部污染的不同方案，在分析之前，用不同的介质对暴露的头发样本进行了洗涤：水、甲醇、正己烷/二氯甲烷（1:1，v/v）、丙酮和洗发水。结果表明，没有一种洗涤介质能够完全且专门去除外部污染。在所研究的介质中，甲醇去除了大部分的外部污染（42-105%），但不同化合物的去除效率不同。因此，我们得出结论，头发在分析前不应该洗涤，在有可见污染的情况下（例如使用化妆品产品），应推荐使用水。不应使用有机溶剂进行洗涤步骤。尽管不可能区分外部暴露和内部暴露，但头发样本可以作为人体暴露的有价值的生物标志物，提供整体暴露的衡量标准。据我们所知，这是首次使用外部暴露的头发样本来研究 PBDEs 和 PFRs 的研究。
