State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Center for Environmental Health Research, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China.
College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Environ Res. 2016 Jul;148:177-183. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.03.032. Epub 2016 Apr 11.
Hair is a promising, non-invasive, human biomonitoring matrix that can provide insight into retrospective and integral exposure to organic pollutants. In the present study, we measured the concentrations of organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) in hair and serum samples from university students in Guangzhou, China, and compared the PFR concentrations in the female hair segments using paired distal (510cm from the root) and proximal (05cm from the root) samples. PFRs were not detected in the serum samples. All PFRs except tricresyl phosphate (TMPP) and tri-n-propyl phosphate (TPP) were detected in more than half of all hair samples. The concentrations of total PFRs varied from 10.1 to 604ng/g, with a median of 148ng/g. Tris(chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and tri(2-ethylexyl) phosphate (TEHP) were the predominant PFRs in hair. The concentrations of most PFRs in the distal segments were 1.5~8.6 times higher than those in the proximal segments of the hair (t-test, p<0.05), which may be due to the longer exposure time of the distal segments to external sources. The values of log (PFR concentrations-distal/PFR concentrations-proximal) were positively and significantly correlated with log KOA of PFRs (p<0.05, r=0.68), indicating that PFRs with a higher log KOA tend to accumulate in hair at a higher rate than PFRs with a lower log KOA. Using combined segments of female hair, significantly higher PFR concentrations were observed in female hair than in male hair. In contrast, female hair exhibited significantly lower PFR concentrations than male hair when using the same hair position for both genders (0-5cm from the scalp). The controversial results regarding gender differences in PFRs in hair highlight the importance of segmental analysis when using hair as an indicator of human exposure to PFRs.
头发是一种有前途的、非侵入性的人体生物监测基质，可以提供对有机污染物回溯和整体暴露的深入了解。在本研究中，我们测量了中国广州大学生的头发和血清样本中的有机磷酸酯阻燃剂 (PFR) 浓度，并比较了女性头发远段（距发根 5-10 厘米）和近段（距发根 0-5 厘米）样本中的 PFR 浓度。血清样本中未检测到 PFR。除磷酸三甲苯酯 (TMPP) 和磷酸三异丙基酯 (TPP) 外，所有 PFR 均在一半以上的头发样本中被检测到。总 PFR 浓度范围为 10.1-604ng/g，中位数为 148ng/g。磷酸三氯异丙基酯 (TCIPP) 和磷酸三(2-乙基己基)酯 (TEHP) 是头发中的主要 PFR。远段头发中大多数 PFR 的浓度是近段头发的 1.5-8.6 倍（t 检验，p<0.05），这可能是由于远段头发对外源的暴露时间更长。log(PFR 浓度-远段/PFR 浓度-近段) 值与 PFR 的 logKOA 值呈正显著相关（p<0.05，r=0.68），表明 logKOA 较高的 PFR 比 logKOA 较低的 PFR 更容易以更高的速率在头发中积累。使用女性头发的组合段，女性头发中的 PFR 浓度明显高于男性头发。相比之下，当使用相同的头发位置（距头皮 0-5 厘米）时，女性头发中的 PFR 浓度明显低于男性头发。头发中 PFR 性别差异的争议结果强调了在使用头发作为 PFR 人体暴露指标时进行分段分析的重要性。
