Human Fetal Exposure to Triclosan and Triclocarban in an Urban Population from Brooklyn, New York

Abstract

Triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) are antimicrobial agents formulated in a wide variety of consumer products (including soaps, toothpaste, medical devices, plastics, and fabrics) that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In late 2014, the FDA will consider regulating the use of both chemicals, which are under scrutiny regarding lack of effectiveness, potential for endocrine disruption, and potential contribution to bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Here, we report on body burdens of TCS and TCC resulting from real-world exposures during pregnancy. Using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, we determined the concentrations of TCS, TCC, and its human metabolites (2′-hydroxy-TCC and 3′-hydroxy-TCC) as well as the manufacturing byproduct (3′-chloro-TCC) as total concentrations (Σ−) after conjugate hydrolysis in maternal urine and cord blood plasma from a cohort of 181 expecting mother/infant pairs in an urban multiethnic population from Brooklyn, NY recruited in 2007–09. TCS was detected in 100% of urine and 51% of cord blood samples after conjugate hydrolysis. The interquartile range (IQR) of detected TCS concentrations in urine was highly similar to the IQR reported previously for the age-matched population of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2004, but typically higher than the IQR reported previously for the general population (detection frequency = 74.6%). Urinary levels of TCC are reported here for the first time from real-world exposures during pregnancy, showing a median concentration of 0.21 μg/L. Urinary concentrations of TCC correlated well with its phase-I metabolite ∑-2′-hydroxy-TCC (r = 0.49) and the manufacturing byproduct ∑-3′-chloro-TCC C (r = 0.79), and ∑-2′-hydroxy-TCC correlated strongly with ∑-3′-hydroxy-TCC (r = 0.99). This human biomonitoring study presents the first body burden data for TCC from exposures occurring during pregnancy and provides additional data on composite exposure to TCS (i.e., from both consumer-product use and environmental sources) in the maternal–fetal unit for an urban population in the United States.

Association of birth outcomes with fetal exposure to parabens, triclosan and triclocarban in an immigrant population in Brooklyn, New York

“…Archived samples of third trimester maternal urine (6–9th month) and human cord blood plasma, collected at two different time points, were used in this work and originated from an urban immigrant population investigated previously for prenatal exposure to mercury [24] and to the antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban [25]. This previous study details the sampling procedures and cohort descriptors.…”

“…Pregnant women (aged 18–45 years) were recruited at the University Hospital of Brooklyn’sPrenatal Clinic between October 2007 and December 2009. From the original cohort of 191, the final cohort included 185 pregnant women and singleton infants after excluding non-singleton ( n = 4) and improbable birth weight/gestational age at birth combinations ( n = 2) [24,25]. Random “spot” urine specimens were provided once per participant during the 6–9th month of pregnancy.…”

“…Specimens (1 mL of material urine or 100 µL of cord blood plasma) were thawed, spiked with a solution containing six isotope-labeled standards (10 µL) as well as a solution containing two hydrolysis standards (50 µL), and diluted with a solution containing hydrolysis enzymes (1 mL). A detailed description of the standards and reagents used can be found in our prior studies [25,26]. An additional 900 µL MS-grade water was added to the umbilical cord blood samples.…”

Effects of triclosan and triclocarban on the growth inhibition, cell viability, genotoxicity and multixenobiotic resistance responses of Tetrahymena thermophila

“…As being widely added in personal care products, TCS and TCC are readily identified in human fluids (blood, milk and urine) and tissue samples. Maximum urinary concentrations of TCS and TCC are in the several mg L À1 and lg L À1 levels, respectively (Pycke et al, 2014;Asimakopoulos et al, 2014). Contents of TCS and TCC in human nails are in the range of 6.6-1488.8 lg kg À1 and 9.5-7686.7 lg kg À1 , respectively (Shi et al, 2013).…”

Triclosan and triclocarban exposure and thyroid function during pregnancy—A randomized intervention

“…Finally, a cohort study of heart disease patients randomized to triclosan-containing or placebo toothpaste identified no effect on thyroid function measures over a four-year period [17]. Although triclosan has commonly been found in urine samples from pregnant women [18–24] (triclocarban has been less studied but is also prevalent [23]), only one study has explored its impact on thyroid function during pregnancy and no changes in any thyroid function measure across time were observed [25]. Anthropometric measurements at birth, affected by thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy, have for the most part not been shown to be related to urinary triclosan levels in cohort studies [26–29].…”