Evaluation of hippuric, phenylglyoxylic and mandelic acids in urine as indices of styrene exposure

Anti-leishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of a series of tris-aryl Sb(V) mandelate cyclometallate complexes

A series of ten cyclometallates and two μ²-peroxo bridged tris-aryl Sb(V) complexes derived from R/S-mandelic acid (= R/S-ManH₂) were synthesised and characterised. As confirmed by X-ray crystallography the complexes 1Sr/s, [Sb(o-tol)₃(man)], 2Sr/s, [Sb(m-tol)₃(man)], 4Sr/s, [Sb(o-PhOMe)₃(man)], 5Sr/s, [Sb(Mes)₃(man)] and 6Sr/s, [Sb(p-tert-BuPh)₃(man)] are all cyclometallates. Complexes 3Sr/s, [(Sb(p-tol)₃(manH)₂O₂], contain a bridging O₂^2- anion in the solid-state but convert to the cyclometallates in DMSO solution with concomitant release of H₂O₂ and formation of complexes [Sb(p-tol)₃(man)], 3Sr'/s'. All complexes underwent initial testing against both human fibroblasts and L. major V121 promastigotes. IC₅₀ values were found to range from 2.07 (6Sr) to >100 (4Sr) μM and 0.21 (5Ss) to >100 (4Ss) μM for fibroblasts and parasites respectively. Two of the complexes were found to be ineffective, displaying no toxicity (4S/r). Despite the degree of mammalian toxicity, the selectivity of most complexes exceeded an SI of three and so were assessed for their anti-amastigote activity. Excellent anti-amastigote activity was observed for complexes at both 10 μM and 5 μM, with percentage infection value ranging from 0.15-3.00% for those tested at 10 μM and 0.25-2.50% for those at 5 μM.

Occupational exposure to styrene and its relation with urine mandelic acid, in plastic injection workers

Plastic injection industry workers are exposed to toxic gases and vapors, including styrene. This study aimed to measure exposure to styrene and its relation with urine mandelic acid among plastics injection workers of the electrical parts industry. This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was carried out in the plastic injection halls of the electronics industry, in winter 2017 and spring 2018. Styrene gas in the workers' respiratory region was sampled by the NIOSH 1501 method and was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MAS). Mandelic acid concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Statistical data analysis was performed with STATA11. The mean of age and working experience in the population under study were 32.4 ± 8.1 and 6.4 ± 5 years, respectively. The average exposure to styrene was 83.2 ± 32.4 mg·m^-3 and the mean of urine mandelic acid was 1570.1 ± 720.6 mg·g ceratinine^-1. There were 24 workers (45.3%) exposed to levels above permissible limits recommended by national and international organizations. There was a positive and significant correlation between exposure to styrene and urine mandelic acid (P = 0.006, r = 0.4). In multivariate regression, occupational exposure to styrene (P = 0.002, β = 0.5) was the strongest variable, predicting the amount of urine mandelic acid. Increased occupational exposure to styrene increases mandelic acid in the urine, and applying control measures to reduce exposure to styrene vapor is recommended in high exposure situations.

Stereochemistry of styrene biotransformation

Metabolism of styrene, an important industrial monomer, is reviewed. Attention is focused on the stereoselectivity of its oxidation to 7,8-styrene oxide as well as on further stereoselective biotransformation by hydrolytic and mercapturic acid pathway. Toxic effects such as mutagenicity, genotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and pneumotoxicity may be related to the ratio of styrene oxide enantiomers at the target site. In rats formation of the less mutagenic (S)-styrene oxide and a faster detoxication of the (R)-enantiomer is favored. In mice metabolic activation of styrene favors the formation of (R)-styrene oxide but this more toxic enantiomer is detoxified faster, so that a nearly racemic styrene oxide results. Stereochemistry of biotransformation can contribute to the species differences in toxicity but can hardly be interpreted as a crucial factor. Due to lack of relevant data the stereochemistry of human metabolism cannot be interpreted in relation to the toxic effects.

Styrene toxicity: an ecotoxicological assessment

Although other aromatic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), etc.) have been thoroughly studied over the years, styrene has been given little attention probably due to its lower rate of industrial use. In addition, it is less toxic than benzene and PAH, proven carcinogens. However, it is classified as a mutagen and thus potentially carcinogenic. Its main use is in the production of the polymer polystyrene and in the production of plastics, rubber, resins, and insulators. Entry into the environment is mainly through industrial and municipal discharges. In this review, the toxicological effects of styrene on humans, animals, and plants are discussed. Its mode of entry and methods of monitoring its presence are examined. Although its effects on humans and aquatic life have been studied, the data on short- or long-term exposures to plants, birds, and land animals are insufficient to be conclusive. Since exposure to workers can result in memory loss, difficulties in concentration and learning, brain and liver damage, and cancer, development of accurate methods to monitor its exposure is essential. In addition, the review outlines the present state of styrene in the environment and suggests ways to deal with its presence. It might appear that the quantities are not sufficient to harm humans, but more data are necessary to evaluate its effect, especially on workers who are regularly exposed to it.

Urinary Phenylglyoxylic Acid Excretion after Exposure to Ethylbenzene among Solvent-exposed Chinese Workers

Factory surveys were conducted in the second half of work weeks on 360 solvent workers (202 men and 158 women) and 281 controls in China. Monitoring personal exposures showed that ethylbenzene exposure was low (geometric mean 1.8 ppm) and was accompanied by coexposure to toluene (1.5 ppm) and three xylene isomers (6.7 ppm). Urine samples collected at the end of the eight-hour shift were analyzed for phenylglyoxylic and mandelic acids by high-pressure liquid chromatography at 257 nm. Despite the low level of the exposures, a significant correlation was observed between ethylbenzene exposure and urinary phenylglyoxylic acid, with high (0.6-0.7) correlation coefficients, suggesting that urinary phenylglyoxylic acid is a good marker of occupational exposure to ethylbenzene. Mandelic acid also correlated with ethylbenzene exposure, but with much smaller coefficients (0.2), possibly because the method employed was more sensitive to phenylglyoxylic acid than to mandelic acid.

Review of the toxicology of styrene

Styrene is used in the production of plastics and resins, which include polystyrene resins, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resins, styrene-acrylonitrile resins, styrene-butadiene copolymer resins, styrene-butadiene rubber, and unsaturated polyester resins. In 1985, styrene ranked in the top ten of synthetic organic chemicals produced in the U.S. This review focuses on various aspects of styrene toxicology including acute and chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, effects on hepatic and extrahepatic xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, pharmacokinetic modeling, and covalent interactions with macromolecules. There appear to be many similarities between the toxicity and metabolism of styrene in rodents and humans. Needed areas of future research on styrene include studies on the molecular dosimetry of styrene in terms of both hemoglobin and DNA adducts. The results of such research should improve our ability to assess the relationship between exposure to styrene and surrogate measures of "effective dose", thereby improving our ability to estimate the effects of low-level human exposures.

Determination of metabolites (including thioethers) of mutagens and/or carcinogens as exposure indicators

Biological assessment of exposure to environmental hazards offers the potential for: (1) evaluation of exposure to prevent health impairment and (2) early detection of health effects. Two main methods of assessment can be used: (1) evaluation of the biological specimen for the exposed chemical or its metabolites and (2) measurement of the biological or clinical effects. There has been rapid improvement in the sensitivity of analytical techniques in the last decade and biological specimens of trace quantity can now be used for routine determinations. In this paper the current practice for monitoring populations exposed to benzene, styrene trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene and to some mutagens/ carcinogens are described. The practical concerns associated with routine urinary analyses, such as sample collection, sample preparation and interpretation of results are also discussed.

Evaluation of low exposure to styrene. I. Absorption of styrene vapours by inhalation under experimental conditions

Volunteers (six men and one woman) were exposed by inhalation to styrene within the concentration range of 20 to 200 mg/m3. The average retention of styrene vapours in the respiratory tract was 71%. The yield of styrene metabolism measured within 24 h was 39 and 17% for mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid, respectively. The determination of mandelic acid in urine collected immediately after the exposure was applied as exposure test. The excretion rate of this metabolite assured the best correlation with the absorbed dose. The relative standard deviations of the test related to actual dose level vary, depending on the analysed concentration range, from 0.21 to 0.33. Quantitative interpretation of the test is possible for styrene concentrations in the air exceeding 20 mg/m3. The concentration amounting to 100 mg/m3 (TLV) corresponds with the mandelic acid excretion rate of 15 mg per hour.

A physiologically based description of the inhalation pharmacokinetics of styrene in rats and humans

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model which describes the behavior of inhaled styrene in rats accurately predicts the behavior of inhaled styrene in humans. The model consists of a series of mass-balance differential equations which quantify the time course of styrene concentration within four tissue groups representing (1) highly perfused organs, (2) moderately perfused tissues such as muscle, (3) slowly perfused fat tissue, and (4) organs with high capacity to metabolize styrene (principally liver). The pulmonary compartment of the model incorporates uptake of styrene controlled by ventilation and perfusion rates and the blood:air partition coefficient. The metabolizing tissue group incorporates saturable Michaelis-Menten metabolism controlled by the biochemical constants Vmax and Km. With a single set of physiological and biochemical constants, the model adequately simulates styrene concentrations in blood and fat of rats exposed to 80, 200, 600, or 1200 ppm styrene (data from previously published studies). The simulated behavior of styrene is particularly sensitive to changes in the constants describing the fat tissue group, and to the maximum metabolic rate described by Vmax. The constants used to simulate the fate of styrene in rats were scaled up to represent humans. Simulated styrene concentrations in blood and exhaled air of humans are in good agreement with previously published data. Model simulations show that styrene metabolism is saturated at inhaled concentrations above approximately 200 ppm in mice, rats, and humans. At inhaled concentrations below 200 ppm, the ratio of styrene concentration in blood to inhaled air is controlled by perfusion limited metabolism. At inhaled concentrations above 200 ppm, this ratio is controlled by the blood:air partition coefficient and is not linearly related to the ratio attained at lower (nonsaturating) exposure concentrations. These results show that physiologically based pharmacokinetic models provide a rational basis with which (1) to explain the relationship between blood concentration and air concentration of an inhaled chemical, and (2) to extrapolate this relationship from experimental animals to humans.

TLC separation of hippuric, mandelic, and phenylglyoxylic acids from urine after mixed exposure to toluene and styrene

A method using thin-layer chromatography is described to determine the concentration of hippuric acid, mandelic acid, and phenylglyoxylic acid present in the urine after occupational mixed exposure to toluene and styrene. These substances are known metabolites of toluene and styrene, and therefore the evaluation to mixed exposure to toluene and styrene may be carried out separating these metabolites beforehand. Procedures are proposed to separate the metabolites as follows: (1) separation of hippuric acid from mandelic acid, (2) separation of mandelic acid from phenylglyoxylic acid, and (3) separation of hippuric acid and mandelic acid from phenylglyoxylic acid. The developing reagent p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde in acetic acid anhydride was used after separation on Kieselgel and Silicagel. The sensitivity of the method was 6 microgram of hippuric acid, 10 microgram of mandelic acid, and 7 microgram of phenylglyoxylic acid with an average recovery of 94%.

High-performance liquid chromatography for the quantitative determination of the urinary metabolites of toluene, xylene, and styrene

A new high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for simultaneous quantitative determination of the urinary metabolites of toluene, m-xylene, and styrene (hippuric acid, m-methylhippuric acid, phenylglyoxylic acid, mandelic acid) is described. The extraction procedure was performed on acidified urines, after addition of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid as internal standard, using a butylchloride/isopropanol mixture and drying 0.5 ml of the organic layer under nitrogen flow. The residue obtained was dissolved in 0.1 ml water/acetonitrile and 5 microliters were injected into an HPLC apparatus equipped with a 0.26 X 25 cm HC ODS SIL X column. Absorbance measures were performed at 225 nm throughout the investigation. All metabolites were clearly separated in a short time (12 min) and the amounts of other urinary compounds affecting the analysis were so small that the measurement of low concentrations of the urinary metabolites could be easily performed. Linear calibration curves were obtained from 0.1 to 3 mg/ml and a correlation coefficient greater than 0.99 was found between concentrations of the standards and areas of the peaks. Statistical analysis confirms that this method, which has a high reproducibility, is simple, reliable, and useful for the biologic monitoring of industrial exposure to aromatic compounds.

Styrene exposure and biologic monitoring in FRP boat production plants

A survey on styrene exposure was conducted in five small to medium-sized fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) boat plants utilizing carbon felt dosimeters as personal and stationary samplers to measure 4h (TWA) exposure during workday afternoons. The heaviest exposure, up to 256 ppm by personal sampling and 174 ppm by stationary sampling, took place during the lamination on a mold to produce a boat shell, and the work inside narrow holds also resulted in exposures of a comparable degree. Styrene levels were much lower in other auxiliary works. The TWA of exposure in an entire boat production was estimated to be 40-50 ppm. Installation of several flexible hoses as an exhaust system was proved to be effective in decreasing the vapor concentration. Gas masks were also useful in reducing the exposure. Urine samples were collected from 96 male workers at the end of 8h work (4h in the morning and 4h in the afternoon) and also from 22 nonexposed male subjects, and analyzed for mandelic acid (MA), phenylglyoxylic acid (PhGA), and hippuric acid (HA). When the results of urinalyses were compared with 4-h styrene TWA as monitored by personal sampling, the best correlation was obtained with MA + PhGA/creatinine (the correlation coefficient, 0.88), followed by MA (0.84). For these two cases, regression lines and 95% confidence limits for the group means and for the individual values were calculated. The urinary level of MA, PhGA, and HA in the 22 nonexposed male subjects were also tabulated.

Chromosomal aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges in lymphocytes of men occupationally exposed to styrene in a plastic-boat factory

Workers in a Swedish factory making boats from plastics reinforced with glass fibre are exposed to a variety of chemicals, including styrene which is mutagenic after metabolic activation. The concentration of styrene in the air was measured in the breathing zones of workers occupied with various processes in boat making. Samples of air were taken 6 times during the years 1973-1978. The total exposure to styrene for the workers during this period was calculated and expressed as the average concentration in mg per m3 air during an 8-h workshift multiplied by the number of years of employment. A low-dose group (mean = 137 mg x m-3) and a high-dose group)mean - 1204 mg x m-3) were identified. Blood samples were taken in 1978 from workers belonging to the exposed groups and from a matched control group of employees in the same factory not exposed to styrene. Lymphocytes were cultured and examined for chromosomal aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges. Exposed workers had a significantly (p less than 0.001) higher number of chromosomal aberrations (36 persons, mean = 7.9 aberrations/100 cells) compared with employees in the control group (37 persons, mean = 3.2 aberrations/100 cells). There was no significant difference between the mean values of the number of chromosomal aberrations between the highly exposed and the less exposed groups. But in the less exposed group there was an increase in the frequency of chromosomal aberrations with increasing exposure to styrene (r = 0.576). In the highly exposed group this dose response was not observed (r = 0.231). For the frequency of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) a slight (p less than 0.05) increase was found in the styrene-exposed group (20 persons, mean = 8.4 SCE/cell). The control group (21 persons) had a mean value of 7.5 SCE/cell. Again there was no difference between the highly exposed and the less exposed groups. Other environmental factors that may have clastogenic effects were studied, but multiple regression analysis failed to show a candidate responsible for the increase in chromosomal abnormalities in the exposed group.

Potential carcinogenic and mutagenic industrial chemicals. I. Alkylating agents

A variety of alkylating agents, acylating agents, peroxides, halogenated derivatives, and nitrogen derivatives have been reviewed, principally in terms of their synthesis, areas of utility, stability, distribution, reactivity, levels of exposure, population at risk, metabolism, carcinogenicity, and mutagenicity.

Induction of sister chromatid exchanges by styrene and its presumed metabolite styrene oxide in the presence of rat liver homogenate

Styrene and its metabolite styrene oxide were tested for their ability to induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in CHO cells. Styrene oxide appeared to be a potent inducer of SCE. Styrene itself did not increase the number of SCE per metaphase, even in the presence of a metabolic activation system. The metabolic activation system decreased the SCE induction caused by styrene oxide. Induction of SCE by styrene in the presence of metabolic activation occurred when cyclohexene oxide was used as an inhibitor of the enzyme epoxide hydrase.

Pharmacokinetics and distribution of styrene monomer in rats after intravenous administration

An interest in the pharmacokinetics of styrene monomer in the rat, arising from the presence of the monomer in the industrial work place and in foods, necessitated an investigation of the dose dependency of the kinetics of styrene monomer when administered by the iv route. A rapid distribution of the monomer to the major organs was observed, and all of the rate coefficients describing the rates of distribution and elimination decreased with increasing dose. No change in the apparent volume of distribution with dose was observed. Some evidence for the involvement of saturable metabolic pathways was obtained.

Styrene and related hydrocarbons in subcutaneous fat from polymerization workers

Subcutaneous fat samples from 25 workers in a styrene polymerization plant have been analyzed for styrene, ethyl benzene, toluene, benzene, and benzaldehyde by gas chromatography. Styrene was found in samples from 13 of 17 workers who had been heavily exposed within the previous 3 days, 5 of 13 having been exposed 2-3 days earlier. Six workers 4-90 days removed from exposure and two 2-3 days removed from low (less than 5 ppm) exposures had no detectable styrene in fat tissue samples. Toluene and ethyl benzene were found in varying amounts in many samples, and benzene was observed in three samples. Benzaldehyde was observed at levels of 5-53 microng/g in all samples. Although urinary metabolites and breath levels of styrene are reported to be detectable for less than 24 hr following exposure, styrene was found in subcutaneous fat from the subjects of this study for as long as 3 days after the most recent occupational exposure. The combination exposures in such a setting are reflected in the variety of hydrocarbons found in fat samples of workers.