Is hair analysis for dialkyl phosphate metabolites a suitable biomarker for assessing past acute exposure to organophosphate pesticides?

In the present paper, the possibility to use dialkyl phosphate metabolites (DAPs) hair segmental analysis as a biomarker of past acute exposure to organophosphates is examined. Hair samples of four acute poisoning survivors were collected and segmental hair analysis was performed. The total hair samples were divided to 1 cm segments and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the presence of four DAP metabolites, dimethyl phosphate (DMP), diethyl phosphate (DEP), diethyl thiophosphate (DETP) and diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP).

Assessment of levels of organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites in the hair of a Greek rural human population.

We present the assessment of chronic exposure of the rural population of Helia Peloponnesus, Greece to banned organochlorine pesticides, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), using hair analysis. A total of 222 head hair samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of those organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites or isomers. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used to measure the levels of the pollutants.

Pesticide levels in head hair samples of Cretan population as an indicator of present and past exposure.

In the present work we assessed chronic exposure of different working population groups of Messara and Sitia districts, Crete, Greece, to common currently used pesticides (diazinon, fenthion, methyl parathion and malathion) and two banned pesticides hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and DDT. The study population (211 persons, 110 females and 101 males) was divided to three groups; people working in greenhouses, animal breeders and people working in open cultivations. Methanolic extraction of pulverized hair was used for organophosphate pesticides extraction, followed by liquid-liquid extraction with water-ethyl acetate as a clean up step.

Pesticide hair analysis: development of a GC-NCI-MS method to assess chronic exposure to diazinon in rats.

The present study aimed to improve the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method, already developed in our laboratory, for trace analysis of diazinon in hair. Furthermore, it aimed to compare the disposition of the pesticide in the hair of two different animal species, one susceptible to diazinon toxicity and one resistant, under identical experimental conditions. Sprague Dawley rats were systemically exposed to two dose levels (6 mg/kg/day and 3 mg/kg/day) of the pesticide, through their drinking water, for a period of one and a half months.

Progress in pesticide and POPs hair analysis for the assessment of exposure.

The present paper reviews the work that has been done in the field of pesticide and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) hair analysis during the last 15 years. It summarizes the compounds of interest, the methods of analyte extraction from the hair matrix, the analytical techniques employed and the results obtained. The most widely studied POPs are the polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), the dibenzofurans (PCDFs) the co-planar biphenyls (co-PCBs) and total biphenyls (PCBs).

Three-year study of fenthion and dimethoate pesticides in olive oil from organic and conventional cultivation.

Residues of fenthion and dimethoate pesticides were determined in organic and conventional olive oils by liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions with subsequent gas chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis. The olive oil samples were collected from Crete during 1997-99. The average concentrations of fenthion in conventional olive oils were 0.

Hair analysis used to assess chronic exposure to the organophosphate diazinon: a model study with rabbits.

The main purpose of the present study was to determine whether hair analysis would be a suitable method to assess chronic exposure of rabbits to the pesticide diazinon. A controlled study was designed, in which white rabbits of the New Zealand variety were systemically exposed to two dosage levels (15 mg/kg per day and 8 mg/kg per day) of the pesticide, through their drinking water, for a period of 4 months. Hair samples from the back of the rabbits were removed before commencing the experiment and at the end of the dosing period.

Hair analysis: another approach for the assessment of human exposure to selected persistent organochlorine pollutants.

Hair analysis was used for the assessment of exposure to organochlorine pollutants in specimens from Greece, Romania and Belgium. A simple method (using 3 N HCI as incubation reagent, liquid-liquid extraction with hexane/ dichloromethane (DCM), alumina/acid silica clean-up and GC-ECD/GC-MS analysis) was used for screening of specimens. The highest organochlorine load (up to 148 ng/g hair for the sum of PCB, DDT and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers) was found in samples from a group of Greek women with past occupational exposure to pesticides.

Characterisation of cannabis plants phenotypes from illegal cultivations in Crete.

In the present study samples of cannabis plants presented to us by the Drug Enforcement Units were characterised, based on the analysis of active substances. The fresh samples were dried in a dark room were they were kept until analysis. The samples included leaves, flowers roots and trunks.

Pesticide deposition in hair: preliminary results of a model study of methomyl incorporation into rabbit hair.

This work studied the incorporation of methomyl, a carbamate insecticide, into the hair of New Zealand white rabbits. A total of 600 mg methomyl was administered by drinking water over 4 mo, and acetylcholinesterase activity in serum was monitored. At the end of the dosing period, hair from the back of the rabbits was cut off, and the methomyl concentration was measured using ELISA and HPLC.