Noninvasive method for the assessment of dermal uptake of pesticides using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy.
Dermal absorption of pesticides is a primary exposure route for agricultural workers, but is not well characterized. Current measurement techniques are either invasive, such as tape-stripping, or require extensive sample preparation or analysis time, such as urinary metabolite monitoring or wipe sampling followed by gas chromatography analysis. We present the application of a noninvasive, spectroscopic approach for the measurement of pesticide absorption into skin. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) was used to monitor directly the absorption of two pesticides--captan and azinphos-methyl--in ten volunteers over 20 min under occlusive conditions. We found substantial variability in absorption across subjects. Our results were comparable to those measured by the more traditional method of wipe-sampling followed by extraction and gas chromatography analysis. Multivariate data analysis, in the form of multivariate curve resolution (MCR), is a novel addition to this type of experiment, yielding time-resolved information unachievable by standard methods. These data are potentially more informative than the monitoring of blood or urinary metabolites because they can be acquired in essentially real-time, allowing observations of pesticide absorption on a rapid timescale rather than over hours or days.
Carden
Angela
A
University of Washington, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. acarden@u.washington.edu
Yost
Michael G
MG
Fenske
Richard A
RA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D003199:Computer Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods*
D010575:Pesticides