Disposable diaper to collect urine samples from young children for pyrethroid pesticide studies

Abstract

Disposable diapers are widely used in the US and many other areas in the world; therefore, they are ideal media for urine collection for measurement of young children's exposure to pesticides. However, disposable diapers normally contain polyacrylate polymers that make the extraction and analysis of urine very difficult. The objectives of this paper were to evaluate whether disposable diapers that contain polyacrylate granules can be extracted using salt solutions, and whether they can be used for the collection and quantitative measurements of selected urinary pyrethroid pesticide metabolites and creatinine. The storage stability of the metabolites and creatinine in a wet diaper at body temperature and at refrigeration temperature was also evaluated. Salt solutions including calcium chloride dihydrate, magnesium sulfate, ammonium acetate, and sodium chloride solutions were tested for efficiency of polymer shrinkage. Pyrethroid metabolites 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl-(1-cyclopropane) carboxylic acid (DCCA), 3-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-2,2,dimethyl-(1-cyclopropane) carboxylic acid (DBCA) and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) were analyzed using LC/MS/MS and evaluated for recoveries in the urine released from the diapers. The study found calcium chloride dihydate to be satisfactory in releasing urine and metabolites from the polymers. The percent recoveries for the three tested pyrethroid metabolites were mostly in the range of 65-130. The percent recoveries for creatinine were in the range of 71-133. The detection limit for each of the three metabolites was 0.1 mg/l. The pyrethroid metabolites and creatinine were stable on the diaper for at least 72 h. We concluded from this study that calcium chloride dihydrate can successfully release urine and metabolites from polyacrylatecontaining diapers, and the method is promising for studies of pyrethroid metabolites.

Analysis and evaluation of pyrethroid exposure in human population based on biological monitoring of urinary pyrethroid metabolites

“…All of the published epidemiological studies measuring PYR metabolites have targeted populations aged over two years old due to difficulties in urine collection from diapers. Although no epidemiological data were presented, Hu et al 45) attempted to measure PYR metabolites from disposable diapers. If the analytical sensitivities are improved further, the method will be suitable for epidemiological field studies on children using diapers.…”

Urine-sampling methods for environmental chemicals in infants and young children

“…Obtaining a sufficient volume of urine may be problematic if the pad is not saturated sufficientlyFonly 3-12 ml of urine can be extracted from the pad even though up to 170 ml of urine is voided by a 1-to 3-year-old child at any one time (Hu et al, 2004). Dorey and Zimmermann (2008) were able to extract approximately 2 ml of urine from cotton pads.…”

“…A wet diaper may be brought in by a parent on the day of the study (Sathyanarayana et al, 2008), or the diaper may be wet on-site. Hu et al (2004) reported that pyrethroid metabolites were stable in diapers during a period of overnight urine collection (371C for at least 8 h) and during storage at 11C for at least 3 days. However, the method of extraction from disposable diapers is more problematic.…”

“…However, the method of extraction from disposable diapers is more problematic. The absorbent pad in the diaper consists of polyacrylate powder, which when wetted, uncoils to absorb water and swell into a three-dimensional gel-like material which makes extraction and analysis of urine very difficult (Hu et al, 2004). Extraction of urine can be done by either squeezing the wet diaper into a receptacle, or using a syringe to aspirate the sample from the diaper.…”

“…In addition, diaper fibers can be inserted into the barrel of a syringe and compressed to extract urine (Ahmad et al, 1991;Cohen et al, 1997;Sathyanarayana et al, 2008). Moreover, in the laboratory, the addition of calcium salts has been shown to be effective in shrinking or collapsing these polymers and extracting the urine (Hu et al, 2004).…”