Enabling Quantitative Analysis of Surface Small Molecules for Exposomics and Behavioral Studies

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Workplace chemical exposures cause significant occupational injuries, with skin exposure being the most common route.
• Current exposomics research primarily analyzes airborne chemicals or chemicals in worker biofluids (blood, urine), neglecting surface contamination.
• A critical gap exists in quantitative methods for assessing chemical transfer onto surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel swab-based quantitative approach for measuring small molecule concentrations on various surfaces.
• To assess the utility of this method for analyzing drugs and human metabolites in occupational settings.
• To establish a foundation for future quantitative exposomics studies focusing on surface-analyte interactions.

Main Methods:

• A swab-based sampling technique was developed to collect small molecules from surfaces.
• The method's quantitative capabilities were tested using cyclobenzaprine (a drug) on metal surfaces.
• The approach was further validated with human metabolites (carnitine, phenylacetylglutamine) on linoleum, laboratory workbench, metal, and Plexiglas surfaces.

Main Results:

• The swab-based method demonstrated quantitative recovery of cyclobenzaprine, carnitine, and phenylacetylglutamine from tested surfaces.
• Peak areas showed a proportional relationship with surface analyte concentrations at 45 minutes and 1 week post-deposition.
• The method was found unsuitable for oleanolic acid, indicating analyte-specific performance.

Conclusions:

• A novel quantitative swab-based method enables the measurement of small molecule abundance on workplace surfaces.
• This technique expands the scope of exposomics research to include surface contamination.
• Future studies can utilize this method for analyte- and surface-specific quantitative exposomics investigations.