scholarly journals Research Article. Perfluoroalkylated substances in human urine: results of a biomonitoring pilot study

Biomonitoring ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Hartmann ◽  
Wolfgang Raffesberg ◽  
Sigrid Scharf ◽  
Maria Uhl

AbstractPerfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) are a class of synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of processes and products due to their unique physicalchemical properties. Through intake of PFASs via food or several consumer products, humans can be exposed. Long-chain PFASs have been associated with adverse effects in laboratory animals, and there is also evidence for adverse health effects in humans. Although investigations of human exposure are mainly conducted in blood samples, some studies have shown that especially short-chain PFASs can be detected in human urine. In the present study, a sensitive analytical method was adapted for the measurement of 12 PFASs in human urine samples by HPLC-MS/MS. For verifying this method, concentrations in 11 male and female participants aged 25-46 years were analysed. In the study population, ranges of urinary PFASs concentrations were n.d.- 8.5 ng/l for perfluoropentanoic acid, <LOQ-3.0 ng/l for perfluorohexanoic acid, n.d.-1.8 ng/l for perfluorohexane sulphonate, n.d.-0.99 ng/l for perfluoroheptanoic acid, 0.79-5.1 ng/l for perfluorooctanoic acid, <LOQ-4.9 ng/l for perfluorooctane suphonate, and <LOQ-0.57 ng/l for perfluorononanoic acid. For the other investigated PFASs, no urinary exposure could be identified in any of the samples. The present study shows that several shortchain PFASs are detectable in human urine.

2009 ◽  
Vol 1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve M. Hankin

AbstractNanotechnology has the potential to greatly improve our lives through medical, environmental and consumer products. Properties at the nanoscale are being exploited in new products, but they could also influence how the particles interact with humans and the environment. There is increasing consensus that for nanotechnology to reach its maximum potential, we must work to understand the hazards and exposure routes in order to minimise the risks. Good practice, founded on the principles of risk assessment and industrial hygiene, are applicable to a wide range of nanomaterials and nanostructured materials including nanoparticles, nanofibres, nanopowders, nanotubes, as well as aggregates and agglomerates of these materials. There is still considerable uncertainty about many aspects of effective risk assessment of nanomaterials, including the hazardous potential of many types of nanoparticles and the levels below which individuals might be exposed, with minimal likelihood of adverse health effects. It is prudent therefore to understand how to develop an appropriate strategy for the risk assessment, handling and disposing of nanomaterials, in the light of known and unknown hazards and exposures. This paper presents a perspective of the key components of risk assessment applicable to nanotechnology and novel materials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 884-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esra Emerce ◽  
Özge Çetin

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products. Because the presence of PFAS has been identified in humans and the environment in the last decade, human exposure to PFAS is a current public health concern. It has been shown that some PFAS lead to adverse health effects in the male reproductive system. However, there is no information about probable genotoxic effects of these chemicals on sperm cells. This study aimed to investigate the possible genotoxic damage on human sperm cells exposed to certain major PFAS compounds that were selected considering their extensive usage, high persistence in the environment, and high bioaccumulation in humans. These PFAS are perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA). The alkaline comet assay was used to detect the DNA damage to sperm. Sperm cells were treated with 0.1–1 mM of each PFAS at 32°C for 1 h to obtain optimal survival. As a result of the experiments, it was discovered that the exposure to PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, and PFHxA did not cause significant levels of cytotoxicity and did not cause damage to sperm DNA under these conditions. The results suggest that the exposure to these PFAS did not interfere with sperm DNA. Indirect toxicity mechanisms should be taken into account to assess the association between the PFAS exposure and male reproductive toxicity.


Author(s):  
Tri Tran

Phthalates, industrial synthetic chemicals, have been widely used in consumer products to improve the flexibility of plastics. The fact shows that the more plastic products (cosmetics, beverage covered by plastic, personal care products, food wrap film, etc.) are used, therefore, the more phthalates are found in various environments such as sludge, dust, air, and water. In spite of their significant benefits in our lives and industry, their effects on the reproductive and toxicities in laboratory animals have been shown. However, the comprehension of phthalates has been limited. In this work, the method for determination of phthalates in beverage by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technique has been optimized. The method quantitative limits for phthalates ranged from 0.3 to 1.5 ng/mL. The recoveries of surrogate compounds for procedural blanks ranged from 73.4 to 91.6%, with RSD<10.7%. The total concentrations of phthalates in several kinds of beverage collected from Hanoi, Vietnam were found at ranging of 18.0 - 87.5 ng/mL. However, these values were much lower than the permissible limit of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) only in beverage by Vietnam Ministry of Health (1500 ng/mL).


Biomonitoring ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Hartmann ◽  
Maria Uhl ◽  
Stefan Weiss ◽  
Sigrid Scharf ◽  
Jürgen König

AbstractBisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical widely used as a monomer in polycarbonate, epoxy resin and thermal paper production, and as a stabiliser in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production. Thus, BPA is present in a wide range of common consumer products. Due to contact with BPA-containing products, humans are regularly exposed via different routes. BPA is an endocrine active substance and can potentially lead to different adverse health outcomes. In the present study, total BPA levels were analysed by on-line SPE-HPLC-MS/MS in spontaneous urine samples in order to investigate the exposure to an Austrian population aged 6-15 and 18-81 years. In the total study population (n=594), total BPA were found in 15.7% of all samples, with concentrations up to 17 μg/l (median: n.d., 95th percentile: 3.7 μg/l). These results show generally low BPA levels among the investigated study population. However, children and adolescents exhibited higher exposure levels. Daily BPA intakes were estimated and compared to acceptable exposure levels, whereat no exceedances could be identified. Although BPA exposure was shown to be low in the Austrian population, the wide distribution and the ongoing discussion related to possible negative health effects even at low doses indicate need for further monitoring and investigations.


Author(s):  
Alif Chebbi ◽  
Massimiliano Tazzari ◽  
Cristiana Rizzi ◽  
Franco Hernan Gomez Tovar ◽  
Sara Villa ◽  
...  

Abstract Within the circular economy framework, our study aims to assess the rhamnolipid production from winery and olive oil residues as low-cost carbon sources by nonpathogenic strains. After evaluating various agricultural residues from those two sectors, Burkholderia thailandensis E264 was found to use the raw soluble fraction of nonfermented (white) grape marcs (NF), as the sole carbon and energy source, and simultaneously, reducing the surface tension to around 35 mN/m. Interestingly, this strain showed a rhamnolipid production up to 1070 mg/L (13.37 mg/g of NF), with a higher purity, on those grape marcs, predominately Rha-Rha C14-C14, in MSM medium. On olive oil residues, the rhamnolipid yield of using olive mill pomace (OMP) at 2% (w/v) was around 300 mg/L (15 mg/g of OMP) with a similar CMC of 500 mg/L. To the best of our knowledge, our study indicated for the first time that a nonpathogenic bacterium is able to produce long-chain rhamnolipids in MSM medium supplemented with winery residues, as sole carbon and energy source. Key points • Winery and olive oil residues are used for producing long-chain rhamnolipids (RLs). • Both higher RL yields and purity were obtained on nonfermented grape marcs as substrates. • Long-chain RLs revealed stabilities over a wide range of pH, temperatures, and salinities


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Haider ◽  
Inn-Kyu Kang

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have diverted the attention of the scientific community and industrialist itself due to their wide range of applications in industry for the preparation of consumer products and highly accepted application in biomedical fields (especially their efficacy against microbes, anti-inflammatory effects, and wound healing ability). The governing factor for their potent efficacy against microbes is considered to be the various mechanisms enabling it to prevent microbial proliferation and their infections. Furthermore a number of new techniques have been developed to synthesize Ag-NPs with controlled size and geometry. In this review, various synthetic routes adapted for the preparation of the Ag-NPs, the mechanisms involved in its antimicrobial activity, its importance/application in commercial as well as biomedical fields, and possible application in future have been discussed in detail.


Toxics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Wasel ◽  
Jennifer Freeman

Tungsten is a refractory metal that is used in a wide range of applications. It was initially perceived that tungsten was immobile in the environment, supporting tungsten as an alternative for lead and uranium in munition and military applications. Recent studies report movement and detection of tungsten in soil and potable water sources, increasing the risk of human exposure. In addition, experimental research studies observed adverse health effects associated with exposure to tungsten alloys, raising concerns on tungsten toxicity with questions surrounding the safety of exposure to tungsten alone or in mixtures with other metals. Tungsten is commonly used as an alloy with nickel and cobalt in many applications to adjust hardness and thermal and electrical conductivity. This review addresses the current state of knowledge in regard to the mechanisms of toxicity of tungsten in the absence or presence of other metals with a specific focus on mixtures containing nickel and cobalt, the most common components of tungsten alloy.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashun Gorai ◽  
Robert McKinney ◽  
Nancy Haegel ◽  
Andriy Zakutayev ◽  
Vladan Stevanovic

Power electronics (PE) are used to control and convert electrical energy in a wide range of applications from consumer products to large-scale industrial equipment. While Si-based power devices account for the vast majority of the market, wide band gap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3 are starting to gain ground. However, these emerging materials face challenges due to either non-negligible defect densities, or high synthesis and processing costs, or poor thermal properties. Here, we report on a broad computational survey aimed to identify promising materials for future power electronic devices beyond SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. We consider 863 oxides, sulfides, nitrides, carbides, silicides, and borides that are reported in the crystallographic database and exhibit finite calculated band gaps. We utilize ab initio methods in conjunction with models for intrinsic carrier mobility, and critical breakdown field to compute the widely used Baliga figure of merit. We also compute the lattice thermal conductivity as a screening parameter. In addition to correctly identifying known PE materials, our survey has revealed a number of promising candidates exhibiting the desirable combination of high figure of merit and high lattice thermal conductivity, which we propose for further experimental investigations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Witham ◽  
Sara Wells

AbstractBiobanks containing tissue and other biological samples from many model organisms provide easy and faster access to ex vivo resources for a wide-range of research programmes. For all laboratory animals, collecting and preserving tissue at post-mortem is an effective way of maximising the benefits of individual animals and potentially reducing the numbers required for experimentation in the future. For primate tissues, biobanks represent the scarcest of these resources but quite possibly those most valuable for preclinical and translation studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 1854-1866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva K. Stebel ◽  
Kyndal A. Pike ◽  
Huan Nguyen ◽  
Heather A. Hartmann ◽  
Mattaeus J. Klonowski ◽  
...  

Adsorbents comprising swellable organically modified silica were characterized to optimize the adsorption of a wide range of perfluoroalkyl substances from water.


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