Abstract

The phasing out of brominated flame retardants from markets has prompted an increased focus on organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants because of their wide usage and toxicity. The high usage of OPEs inevitably leads to widespread occurrence in the environment and thus human internal exposure. Accordingly, extensive internal exposure to OPEs and their metabolites (mOPEs) has been reported in recent years. Here, we review literature findings relating to sample pretreatment protocols and instrumental analysis procedures for OPE determination; the occurrence and composition profiles of OPEs and mOPEs in human matrices including urine, blood, milk, nails, hair, and placenta; the health risks associated with OPE exposure; and notable challenges in OPE analysis. Measured urinary concentrations of dialkyl and diaryl mOPEs were relatively high in the USA but comparatively low in Europe and Asia. There have been few studies on OPEs and their hydroxylated metabolites (HO-OPEs) in human matrices. The main OPEs originating from daily necessity products are tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate, tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, and triphenyl phosphate, although there are regional differences. Human exposure to OPEs occurs mainly through oral ingestion. Because of the relatively short biological half-lives of OPEs, urinary mOPE concentrations reflect short-term human OPE exposure, while OPE levels in hair and nails better reflect long-term exposure because of the low metabolic activities of OPEs in these matrices. There is a need to develop effective and flexible pretreatment methods and sensitive instrumental analysis protocols for OPEs/mOPEs and to increase the availability of commercial HO-OPE standards.

摘要

由于有机磷酸酯 (OPE) 阻燃剂的广泛用途和毒性，市场上逐步淘汰溴化阻燃剂促使人们更加关注有机磷酸酯 (OPE) 阻燃剂。OPE的大量使用不可避免地导致环境中的广泛发生，从而导致人体内部暴露。因此，近年来报道了对 OPE 及其代谢物 (mOPE) 的广泛内部暴露。在这里，我们回顾了与样品预处理方案和用于 OPE 测定的仪器分析程序有关的文献结果；人体基质中 OPE 和 mOPE 的发生和组成概况，包括尿液、血液、牛奶、指甲、头发和胎盘；与 OPE 暴露相关的健康风险；OPE 分析中的显着挑战。在美国，测得的二烷基和二芳基 mOPE 的尿浓度相对较高，但在欧洲和亚洲相对较低。关于人体基质中 OPE 及其羟基化代谢物 (HO-OPE) 的研究很少。源自日用品的主要OPE有磷酸三(2-氯异丙基)酯、磷酸三(1,3-二氯-2-丙基)酯和磷酸三苯酯，但存在地区差异。人类接触 OPE 主要是通过口服摄入。由于 OPE 的生物半衰期相对较短，尿 mOPE 浓度反映了短期的人体 OPE 暴露，而头发和指甲中的 OPE 水平更好地反映了长期暴露，因为这些基质中 OPE 的代谢活性低。