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Does the composition of urine change when collected from disposable diapers and other absorbent materials?

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 20, pages 644–649 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The free and conjugated urinary species of non-persistent environmental chemicals or their breakdown products are valid human exposure biomarkers. For convenience, disposable diapers and other absorbent materials are widely used to collect urine specimens from infants and young toddlers. However, the extent to which the different urinary species of the target analytes and other components are recovered after the urine is extracted from these absorbent materials is unknown. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the extraction recovery from disposable diapers, cotton pads, and gauzes of the free versus glucuronidated urinary species of three example chemicals: bisphenol A, triclosan, and 4-methylumbelliferone. Although the glucuronides were almost fully recovered, the free species were not. Our results suggest that, in addition to other sampling considerations, the binding affinity and extraction recovery of the target biomarkers to the material used to collect the urine should be considered. Alternative collection approaches that do not require such an extraction (e.g., urine bags routinely used in hospitals) may be worth exploring. Despite its shortcomings, having urinary concentrations for biomonitoring considerably strengthens the exposure assessment, particularly for infants and young toddlers, and the benefits of including biomonitoring data outweigh their potential limitations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Mailstop F53, Atlanta, Georgia, USA,

    Xiaoyun Ye, Xiaoliu Zhou, Amber M Bishop, Larry L Needham & Antonia M Calafat

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  1. Xiaoyun Ye
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  2. Xiaoliu Zhou
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  3. Amber M Bishop
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  4. Larry L Needham
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  5. Antonia M Calafat
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Correspondence to Xiaoyun Ye.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest. The use of trade names is for identification only and does not constitute endorsement by the US Department of Health and Human Services or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Ye, X., Zhou, X., Bishop, A. et al. Does the composition of urine change when collected from disposable diapers and other absorbent materials?. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 20, 644–649 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2010.16

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