title: Inter-individual variability in blood/air partitioning of volatile organic compounds and correlation with blood chemistry.
abstract: In vitro blood/air partition coefficients (KB/A) for acetone, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, toluene, and styrene were measured in blood samples from 73 human subjects and correlated with blood chemistry parameters (hematocrit, total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum albumin, total plasma proteins, Na+, K+, Cl-, and HCO3-). Statistically significant inter-individual variation existed in KB/A between some subjects. Substitution of group or generic in vitro KB/A values for values determined in some individuals could introduce errors of up to 50%. However, most subjects could be well represented by group averages (mean +/- SD; acetone, 301 +/- 22; 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 6.0 +/- 0.8; toluene, 19 +/- 3; styrene, 62 +/- 10). The KB/A values for acetone, 1,1,1-trichloroethane and toluene were normally distributed. The data for styrene appeared to deviate from a normal distribution and may have been bimodal. The KB/A values for the two structurally related compounds, toluene and styrene, were strongly correlated within individuals, while the KB/A values for compounds with less structural similarity, such as acetone and styrene, were poorly correlated. At most, 15% of the variation in KB/A among individuals could be explained by variation in the measured blood chemistry parameters. When the entire sample group was considered, blood chemistry parameters were not significantly correlated with KB/A for any compound. The KB/A of 1,1,1-trichloroethane was significantly correlated with the concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides in females. Sex was a significant grouping variable for the correlation of albumin concentration with the KB/A of styrene. Age was not a significant correlation variable. Blood chemistry parameters which previously have been correlated with KB/A in small sample groups do not appear to be significantly correlated in our larger sample group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dills
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Ackerlund
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kalman
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D015824:Blood-Air Barrier / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013997:Time Factors; D014240:Trichloroethanes / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D014240:Trichloroethanes; C024566:1,1,1-trichloroethane; D000096:Acetone