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Specht AJ, Hoover C, Grier T. Portable x-ray fluorescence for bone lead measurement: Current approaches and future directions. Curr Environ Health Rep 2024; 11:443-451. [PMID: 38776000 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-024-00450-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Legacy lead exposures persist as a widespread problem. Blood lead is traditionally used for lead exposure surveillance; however, bone lead proves to be a cheaper, more accessible, and more revealing tool for surveillance that can be measured using portable x-ray fluorescence techniques. We outline how this approach excels for bone lead measurements. RECENT FINDINGS Portable XRF offers quick, non-invasive in vivo quantification of bone lead. Compared to traditional KXRF systems, pXRF is limited to cortical bone but allows for quicker and similar results. Current methodologies of lead exposure need re-evaluation as lead-related disease burden and trends are dependent on both cumulative and acute impacts. We examined the evolution of XRF techniques for measuring bone lead, comparing current methods with previous ones. We assessed their accuracy, identified limitations, and discussed potential advances in future techniques. Legacy lead exposures call for a revitalization of lead surveillance methods, and pXRF measurement of bone lead offers such a solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J Specht
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Christian Hoover
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA
- Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas Grier
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
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Wise JP, Wise RM, Hoffert A, Wise JTF, Specht AJ. Elevated Metal Levels in U.S. Honeys: Is There a Concern for Human Health? Biol Trace Elem Res 2024:10.1007/s12011-024-04295-1. [PMID: 38995435 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-024-04295-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Honey is a bioactive food used for millennia to improve health and treat diseases. More recently, researchers employ honey as a tool to assess local environmental pollution. Honeybees effectively 'sample' their environment within a ~ 7 km radius, actively collecting nectar, pollen, and water to bring to their hive. Foraging honeybees also sample the air as dust particles accumulate on their pubescence, adding to the hive's contaminant load. Many studies from around the world report elevated metal levels in honey, with the most reports from Iran, Italy, and Turkey, but only two reports have measured metal levels in honey from the United States (U.S.). We report levels of 20 metals from 28 honeys collected from 15 U.S. states between 2022-2023. We then focus on four toxic metals recognized as hazards in foodstuffs when the concentrations are above safety recommendations - lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Two of these metals (lead and mercury) are regulated in honey by the European Union (EU), though the U.S. currently lacks defined regulations for metal levels in honey. We consider the levels of these toxic metals by state, then compare the U.S. mean honey level for these metals against the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). Our results suggest U.S. honey have levels metal that exceed the PWTI and EU regulations and may be hazardous to human health. Further research is needed to determine if the effects of these toxic metal at measured levels outweigh the health benefits from consumption of honey.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Wise
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatrics Research Institute, University of Louisville, 570 S. Preston Street, Baxter I Building, Rm: 204F, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40202, United States.
| | - Rachel M Wise
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Annabelle Hoffert
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - James T F Wise
- Wise Laboratory of Nutritional Toxicology and Metabolism, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
- School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Aaron J Specht
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Specht AJ, Adesina KE, Read DE, Weisskopf MG. Benchtop x-ray fluorescence to quantify elemental content in nails non-destructively. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 918:170601. [PMID: 38309346 PMCID: PMC10923075 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Metals continue to impose health issues among world populations. A non-invasive alternative biomarker for assessment of metals and other elements has been explored in other studies using toenail samples. Some benefits of using toenails as biomarkers over blood samples include cost efficiency, ease of collection, and a longer biological half-life within samples. The objective of this study was to employ desktop XRF for the purpose of measuring metal concentrations in human nail samples, thus conducting a non-destructive assessment. These benefits paired with comparable accuracy in exposure detection could prove toenail samples to be a preferred biomarker for many studies. Current elemental quantification techniques in toenail samples could be improved. The standard practice for measuring metal exposure in toenails, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), has a counterpart in x-ray fluorescence. While maintaining similar quantification capabilities, x-ray fluorescence could provide decreased cost, preservation of samples, and ease of operation. Portable XRF machines have been tested for measuring toenail samples, but they have drastically increased detection limits in comparison to ICP-MS. New benchtop XRF systems should give comparable detection limits to ICP-MS. This study compares the benchtop XRF measurements of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and Selenium (Se) levels to that of ICP-MS measurements of toenail samples and calculates estimated detection limits for 23 other elements. We found strong correlations for the toenail lead (R2 = 0.92), copper (R2 = 0.95), selenium (R2 = 0.60), and iron (R2 = 0.77) comparison between desktop XRF and ICP-MS measurements. Median minimum detection limits over the 23 elements were found to be 0.2 μg/g using a 7.5-min measurement. Benchtop XRF provides a lower detection limit than previously studied portable XRF machines, which gives it the capability of accurately detecting almost any desired element in nail samples. Benchtop XRF provides a non-destructive alternative to ICP-MS in surveillance of nail samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J Specht
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906, United States of America; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States of America.
| | - Kolawole E Adesina
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906, United States of America
| | - Daniel E Read
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906, United States of America
| | - Marc G Weisskopf
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States of America
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Zhang M, Hu J, Tang Q, Zhang J, Jiang X, Hou X. Phosphonic Acid-Functionalized MIL-53(Al) As an Efficient Sorbent for Trace Rare Earth Elements Preconcentration, Storage and Their Determination by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2023; 95:14169-14174. [PMID: 37712649 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
In this work, a simple and novel method coupling solid phase extraction (SPE) with X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) is proposed for the simultaneous determination of 15 kinds of trace rare earth elements (REEs) in water samples. A phosphonic acid functionalized metal-organic framework named BPG-MIL-53(Al) was prepared via postsynthetic modification and served as an efficient adsorbent for these REEs. The prepared BPG-MIL-53(Al) could almost completely adsorb REEs in 5 min under neutral conditions. After filtration, REEs-adsorbed BPG-MIL-53(Al) was deposited on a filter membrane to form a thin film, which was directly analyzed by XRF. The XRF intensities of the REEs-retained MOF disc remained almost unchanged after six months. Taking advantage of this strategy, XRF was able to quantitate ng mL-1 levels of REEs in water samples, achieving impressive limits of detection in the range of 0.4-4.7 ng mL-1. The proposed method was applied to the on-site collection and analysis of REEs in real water samples with desirable accuracy and spike recoveries obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Zhang
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Jing Hu
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Qingsong Tang
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Jiale Zhang
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Xiaoming Jiang
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
| | - Xiandeng Hou
- Analytical and Testing Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
- Key Lab of Green Chem and Tech (MOE) at College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China
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Jacobson TA, Kler JS, Bae Y, Chen J, Ladror DT, Iyer R, Nunes DA, Montgomery ND, Pleil JD, Funk WE. A state-of-the-science review and guide for measuring environmental exposure biomarkers in dried blood spots. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2022:10.1038/s41370-022-00460-7. [PMID: 35963945 PMCID: PMC9375076 DOI: 10.1038/s41370-022-00460-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is a simple, cost-effective, and minimally invasive alternative to venipuncture for measuring exposure biomarkers in public health and epidemiological research. DBS sampling provides advantages in field-based studies conducted in low-resource settings and in studies involving infants and children. In addition, DBS samples are routinely collected from newborns after birth (i.e., newborn dried blood spots, NDBS), with many states in the United States permitting access to archived NDBS samples for research purposes. OBJECTIVES We review the state of the science for analyzing exposure biomarkers in DBS samples, both archived and newly collected, and provide guidance on sample collection, storage, and blood volume requirements associated with individual DBS assays. We discuss recent progress regarding analytical methods, analytical sensitivity, and specificity, sample volume requirements, contamination considerations, estimating extracted blood volumes, assessing stability and analyte recovery, and hematocrit effects. METHODS A systematic search of PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase (Elsevier), and CINAHL (EBSCO) was conducted in March 2022. DBS method development and application studies were divided into three main chemical classes: environmental tobacco smoke, trace elements (including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic), and industrial chemicals (including endocrine-disrupting chemicals and persistent organic pollutants). DBS method development and validation studies were scored on key quality-control and performance parameters by two members of the review team. RESULTS Our search identified 47 published reports related to measuring environmental exposure biomarkers in human DBS samples. A total of 28 reports (37 total studies) were on methods development and validation and 19 reports were primarily the application of previously developed DBS assays. High-performing DBS methods have been developed, validated, and applied for detecting environmental exposures to tobacco smoke, trace elements, and several important endocrine-disrupting chemicals and persistent organic pollutants. Additional work is needed for measuring cadmium, arsenic, inorganic mercury, and bisphenol A in DBS and NDBS samples. SIGNIFICANCE We present an inventory and critical review of available assays for measuring environmental exposure biomarkers in DBS and NDBS samples to help facilitate this sampling medium as an emerging tool for public health (e.g., screening programs, temporal biomonitoring) and environmental epidemiology (e.g., field-based studies).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler A Jacobson
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jasdeep S Kler
- University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Yeunook Bae
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jiexi Chen
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Daniel T Ladror
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ramsunder Iyer
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Denise A Nunes
- Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nathan D Montgomery
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joachim D Pleil
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - William E Funk
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Rodríguez-Saldaña V, Basu N. The performance of dried blood spots for the assessment of lead exposure: A narrative review with a systematic search. Microchem J 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2021.106930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Hampton JO, Specht AJ, Pay JM, Pokras MA, Bengsen AJ. Portable X-ray fluorescence for bone lead measurements of Australian eagles. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 789:147998. [PMID: 34051503 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Lead (Pb) toxicity from ammunition has been shown to be a threat to scavenging birds across the globe. Toxic levels of lead have recently been found in Australia's largest bird of prey, the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis of liver and bone samples. However, ICP-MS is consumptive (causing damage to archived specimens), time-consuming, and expensive. For these reasons, portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) devices have been optimized to measure bone lead in North American avian species, humans, and other environmental samples. In this study, we assessed portable XRF for bone lead measurement in Australian raptors in two parts. First, we validated the method using tissues from wedge-tailed eagles from Tasmania (A. a. fleayi), analysing bone samples taken from sites on the femur immediately adjacent to sites for which we had ICP-MS data (n = 89). Second, we measured lead via portable XRF in the skulls of wedge-tailed eagles from south-eastern mainland Australia (A. a. audax) collected during a criminal prosecution (n = 92). Portable XRF bone lead measurement demonstrated an excellent correlation with ICP-MS results using root-transformed regression (R2 = 0.88). Calculated equivalent ICP-MS values revealed that greater than 50% of the eagles from mainland Australia had elevated lead levels (>10 mg/kg) and 13% had severe lead exposure (>20 mg/kg). Our results support previous studies of North American avian species and suggest that portable XRF could be a useful and inexpensive option for measurement of bone lead in Australian scavenger species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan O Hampton
- Game Management Authority, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia.
| | - Aaron J Specht
- Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - James M Pay
- University of Tasmania, Churchill Ave, Hobart, Tasmania 7005, Australia
| | - Mark A Pokras
- Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, N. Grafton, MA, United States
| | - Andrew J Bengsen
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia
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