Abstract:
We are continuously exposed to dynamic mixtures of airborne contaminants that vary by location. Understanding the compositional diversity of these complex mixtures and the levels to which we are each exposed requires comprehensive exposure assessment. This comprehensive analysis is often lacking in population-based studies due to logistic and analytical challenges associated with traditional measurement approaches involving active air sampling and chemical-by-chemical analysis. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of wearable passive samplers as alternative tools to active samplers in environmental health research. The review highlights the advances and challenges in using wearable passive samplers for assessing personal exposure to organic chemicals and further presents a framework to enable quantitative measurements of exposure and expanded use of this monitoring approach to the population scale.
Overall, wearable passive samplers are promising tools for assessing personal exposure to environmental contaminants, evident by the increased adoption and use of silicone-based devices in recent years. When combined with high throughput chemical analysis, these exposure assessment tools present opportunities for advancing our ability to assess personal exposures to complex mixtures. Most designs of wearable passive samplers used for assessing exposure to semi-volatile organic chemicals are currently uncalibrated, thus, are mostly used for qualitative research. The challenge with using wearable samplers for quantitative exposure assessment mostly lies with the inherent complexity in calibrating these wearable devices. Questions remain regarding how they perform under various conditions and the uncertainty of exposure estimates. As popularity of these samplers grows, it is critical to understand the uptake kinetics of chemicals and the different environmental and meteorological conditions that can introduce variability. Wearable passive samplers enable evaluation of exposure to hundreds of chemicals. The review presents the state-of-the-art of technology for assessing personal exposure to environmental chemicals. As more studies calibrate wearable samplers, these tools present promise for quantitatively assessing exposure at both the individual and population levels.
摘要:
目的:我们不断暴露于随位置而变化的空气传播污染物的动态混合物。了解这些复杂混合物的成分多样性以及我们各自暴露的水平,需要进行全面的暴露评估。由于与涉及主动空气采样和化学逐化学分析的传统测量方法相关的逻辑和分析挑战,这种综合分析在基于人群的研究中往往缺乏。这篇综述的目的是概述可穿戴式无源采样器作为环境健康研究中有源采样器的替代工具。该审查强调了使用可穿戴式无源采样器评估个人接触有机化学品的进展和挑战,并进一步提出了一个框架,以实现对接触的定量测量,并将这种监测方法扩大到人口规模。
结果:总体而言,可穿戴无源采样器是评估个人暴露于环境污染物的有前途的工具,近年来,有机硅基设备的采用和使用有所增加。结合高通量化学分析,这些暴露评估工具为提高我们评估个人暴露于复杂混合物的能力提供了机会。用于评估半挥发性有机化学品暴露的大多数可穿戴式无源采样器的设计目前尚未校准,因此,主要用于定性研究。使用可穿戴采样器进行定量暴露评估的挑战主要在于校准这些可穿戴设备的固有复杂性。关于它们在各种条件下的表现以及暴露估计的不确定性,仍然存在疑问。随着这些采样器的普及,了解化学品的吸收动力学以及可能引入可变性的不同环境和气象条件至关重要。可穿戴式被动采样器能够评估数百种化学物质的暴露。该综述介绍了评估个人暴露于环境化学品的最新技术。随着越来越多的研究校准可穿戴采样器,这些工具为定量评估个体和人群水平的暴露提供了希望。