Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Determination of the Elemental Iodine in Human Breast Milk by Inductively Coupled Plasma mass Spectrometry

  • Research
  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adequate iodine status in lactating women is defined by a maternal median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) ≧ 100 µg/L. However, the above-mentioned criterion does not account for the secretion of iodine into breast milk and could not truly reflect the amount of iodine delivered to the infants. Measuring breast milk median iodine concentration (BMIC) is crucial, but the method to measure BMIC has not been developed and validated in Taiwan. We adopted the ammonia dilution method without prior sample digestion to measure BMIC by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Samples and iodate calibrators were prepared into an aqueous solution containing Triton X-100, 0.5% ammonia solution, and tellurium (128Te) as the internal standard. Precision, accuracy, serial dilution, and recovery tests were performed for method validation. The range of intra-assay and inter-assay coefficient of variation for the four human breast milk samples with different iodine concentrations were 3.2–4.7% and 2.3–5.5%, respectively. The standard NIST 1549 milk powder was prepared into three different concentrations of 50 µg/L, 100 µg/L, and 200 µg/L to assess the accuracy; the bias was < 5%. A recovery of 95–105% was achieved for four human breast milk samples spiked with sodium iodide solution. The serial dilution test confirmed linearity up to 0.998. The limit for detection and quantification was 0.78 µg/L and 2.34 µg/L, respectively. The results of the current study confirmed that this ICP-MS method is accurate and reliable in measuring BMIC.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The datasets generated for this study are available from the corresponding author on request.

References

  1. Pearce EN, Lazarus JH, Moreno-Reyes R, Zimmermann MB (2016) Consequences of iodine deficiency and excess in pregnant women: an overview of current knowns and unknowns. Am J Clin Nutr 104:918S–23S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.115.110429

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Abe SK, Balogun OO, Ota E, Takahashi K, Mori R (2016) Supplementation with multiple micronutrients for breastfeeding women for improving outcomes for the mother and baby. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2:CD010647. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010647.pub2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Zimmermann MB (2012) The effects of iodine deficiency in pregnancy and infancy. Pediatr Perinat Epidemiol 26:108–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3016.2012.01275.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Candido AC, Morais NS, Dutra LV, Pinto CA, Franceschini SDCC, Alfenas RCG (2019) Insufficient iodine intake in pregnant women in different regions of the world: a systematic review. Arch Endocrinol Metab 63:306–311. https://doi.org/10.20945/2359-3997000000151

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Bath SC, Steer CD, Golding J, Emmett P, Rayman MP (2013) Effect of inadequate iodine status in UK pregnant women on cognitive outcomes in their children: results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of parents and children (ALSPAC). Lancet 382:331–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60436-5

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. de Escobar GM, Obregón MJ, del Rey FE (2004) Maternal thyroid hormones early in pregnancy and fetal brain development. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 18:225–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2004.03.012

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Azizi F, Smyth P (2009) Breastfeeding and maternal and infant iodine nutrition. Clin Endocrinol 70:803–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2008.03442.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. UNICEF (2018) Guidance on the Monitoring of Salt Iodization Programmes and Determination of Population Iodine Status. Iodine Global Network Web. https://www.ign.org/cm_data/2018-guidance-Monitoring-of-Salt-Iodization-English.pdf Accessed 25 April 2023

  9. Mizokami T, Fukata S, Hishinuma A, Kogai T, Hamada K, Maruta T, Higashi K, Tajiri J (2016) Iodide transport defect and breast milk iodine. Eur Thyroid J 5:145–148. https://doi.org/10.1159/000446496

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Dold S, Zimmermann MB, Aboussad A, Cherkaoui M, Jia Q, Jukic T, Kusic Z, Quirino A, Sang Z, San Luis TO, Vandea E, Andersson M (2017) Breast milk iodine concentration is a more accurate biomarker of Iodine Status Than urinary iodine concentration in exclusively breastfeeding women. J Nutr 147:528–537. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.242560

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Huang CJ, Cheng CP, Lee LH, Chen HS, Hwu CM, Tang KT, Shih CW, Yeh CC, Yang CC, Wang FF (2021) Iodine nutritional status of lactating women in northern Taiwan in 2019. J Chin Med Assoc 84:400–404. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000505

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Huang CJ, Tseng CL, Chen HS, Hwu CM, Tang KT, Won JG, Shih CW, Yeh CC, Yang CC, Wang FF (2020) Iodine nutritional status of pregnant women in an urban area of northern Taiwan in 2018. PLoS ONE 15:e0233162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233162

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Dunn JT, Crutchfield HE, Gutekunst R, Dunn AD (1993) Two simple methods for measuring iodine in urine. Thyroid 3:119–123. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.1993.3.119

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ohashi T, Yamaki M, Pandav CS, Karmarkar MG, Irie M (2000) Simple microplate method for determination of urinary iodine. Clin Chem 46:529–536. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/46.4.529

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhang W, Mnatsakanov A, Hower R, Cantor H, Wang Y (2005) Urinary iodine assays and ionophore based potentiometric iodide sensors. Front Biosci 10:88–93. https://doi.org/10.2741/1510

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Shelor CP, Dasgupta PK (2011) Review of analytical methods for the quantification of iodine in complex matrices. Anal Chim Acta 702:16–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2011.05.039

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Tang KT, Wang FF, Fu SS, Braverman LE, Lin JD, Won GS (2015) A simple microplate method with improved low iodine concentration sensitivity in urinary iodine measurement. Thyroid 25:1173–1174. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2015.0184

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Wang FF, Tang KT, Pan WH, Won JG, Hsieh YT, Huang CJ (2018) Iodine status of taiwanese population in 2013: 10 years after changing from mandatory to voluntary salt iodization. Food Nutr Bull 39:75–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572117738883

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Tang KT, Pan WH, Wang FF, Lin JD, Won GS, Chau WK, Lin HD, Hsieh YT (2014) Iodine status of taiwanese children before the change in national salt iodization policy: a retrospective study of the nutrition and health survey in Taiwan 2001–2002. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 23:481–487. https://doi.org/10.6133/apjcn.2014.23.3.20

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Tang KT, Wang FF, Pan WH, Lin JD, Won GS, Chau WK, Lin HD, Hsieh YT (2016) Iodine status of adults in Taiwan 2005–2008, 5 years after the cessation of mandatory salt iodization. J Formos Med Assoc 115:645–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2015.06.014

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Dror DK, Allen LH (2018) Iodine in human milk: a systematic review. Adv Nutr 9. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy020. :347S-357S

  22. Liu S, Sharp A, Villanueva E, Ma ZF (2022) Breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) as a biomarker of iodine status in lactating women and children < 2 years of age: a systematic review. Nutrients 14:1691. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091691

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Huang CJ, Lee LH, Cheng CP, Chen HS, Hwu CM, Tang KT, Shih CW, Yeh CC, Wang FF, Yang CC (2023) Analytical validation of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for urinary iodine concentration measurements in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2023.02.010. S0929-6646: 00064 – 5

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Huynh D, Zhou SJ, Gibson R, Palmer L, Muhlhausler B (2015) Validation of an optimized method for the determination of iodine in human breast milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) after tetramethylammonium hydroxide extraction. J Trace Elem Med Biol 29:75–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.07.005

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Fernández-Sánchez LM, Bermejo-Barrera P, Fraga-Bermudez JM, Szpunar J, Lobinski R (2007) Determination of iodine in human milk and infant formulas. J Trace Elem Med Biol 21:10–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2007.09.006

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Fujisaki K, Matsumoto H, Shimokawa Y, Kiyotaki K (2016) Simultaneous quantification of iodine and other elements in infant formula by ICP-MS following an acid digestion with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Anal Sci 32:167–170. https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.32.167

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Leppänen K, Niemelä M, Perämäki P (2014) Development of an efficient acid digestion procedure utilizing high-pressure asher technique for the determination of iodine and metallic elements in milk powder. Food Anal Methods 7:1103–1108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-013-9720-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Dold S, Baumgartner J, Zeder C, Krzystek A, Osei J, Haldimann M, Zimmermann MB, Andersson M (2016) Optimization of a new mass spectrometry method for measurement of breast milk iodine concentrations and an assessment of the effect of analytic method and timing of within-feed sample collection on breast milk iodine concentrations. Thyroid 26:287–295. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2015.0317

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Reid HJ, Bashammakh AA, Goodall PS, Landon MR, O’Connor C, Sharp BL (2008) Determination of iodine and molybdenum in milk by quadrupole ICP-MS. Talanta 75:189–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2007.10.051

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Vance KA, Makhmudov A, Shakirova G, Roenfanz H, Jones RL, Caldwell KL (2018) Determination of iodine content in dairy products by inductively coupled plasma Mass Spectrometry. At Spectrosc 39:95. https://doi.org/10.16495/j.1006-3757.2016.03.010

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sánchez C, Fente C, Barreiro R, López-Racamonde O, Cepeda A, Regal P (2020) Association between breast milk mineral content and maternal adherence to healthy dietary patterns in Spain: a transversal study. Foods 9:659. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9050659

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Macours P, Aubry JC, Hauquier B, Boeynaems JM, Goldman S, Moreno-Reyes R (2008) Determination of urinary iodine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. J Trace Elem Med Biol 22:162–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2008.02.003

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Dubascoux S, Andrey D, Vigo M, Kastenmayer P, Poitevin E (2018) Validation of a dilute and shoot method for quantification of 12 elements by inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry in human milk and in cow milk preparations. J Trace Elem Med Biol 49:19–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2018.04.023

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Levi M, Hjelm C, Harari F, Vahter M (2018) ICP-MS measurement of toxic and essential elements in human breast milk. A comparison of alkali dilution and acid digestion sample preparation methods. Clin Biochem 53:81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2017.12.003

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Zou Y, Wang D, Yu S, Cheng X, Xia L, Yin Y, Xie S, Cheng Q, Qiu L, Lian X (2020) Rapid inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method to determine iodine in amniotic fluid, breast milk and cerebrospinal fluid. Clin Biochem 82:99–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2020.03.009

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Mohd-Taufek N, Cartwright D, Davies M, Hewavitharana AK, Koorts P, Shaw PN, Sumner R, Lee E, Whitfield K (2016) The simultaneous analysis of eight essential trace elements in human milk by ICP-MS. Food Anal Methods 9:2068–2075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0396-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Yu S, Yin Y, Cheng Q, Han J, Cheng X, Guo Y, Sun D, Xie S, Qiu L (2018) Validation of a simple inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for detecting urine and serum iodine and evaluation of iodine status of pregnant women in Beijing. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 78:501–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/00365513.2018.1512150

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was partially supported by funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (grant number: MOST 111-2314-B-075-071), Yin Shu-Tien Foundation Taipei Veterans General Hospital-National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University Excellent Physician Scientists Cultivation Program, No. 112-V-B-021, and the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (grant number: V111B-001, V112B-003, VN112-09, CiC020) to CJH.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chun-Jui Huang, Jia-Zhen Li, Chii-Min Hwu, Harn-Shen Chen & Fan-Fen Wang

  2. School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chun-Jui Huang, Chii-Min Hwu, Harn-Shen Chen & Chen-Chang Yang

  3. Institute of Food Safety and Health Risk Assessment, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Jia-Zhen Li

  4. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chang-Ching Yeh

  5. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chang-Ching Yeh

  6. Department of Nurse-Midwifery and Women Health, College of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chang-Ching Yeh

  7. Department of Medicine, Yangming Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Fan-Fen Wang

  8. Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Chang Yang

  9. Institute of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Chang Yang

  10. Department of Occupational Medicine & Clinical Toxicology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Chang Yang

Authors
  1. Chun-Jui Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jia-Zhen Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chii-Min Hwu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Harn-Shen Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chang-Ching Yeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Fan-Fen Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Chen-Chang Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Chun-Jui Huang, Jia-Zhen Li, Chang-Ching Yeh. Chii-Min Hwu, Harn-Shen Chen, Fan-Fen Wang, and Chen-Chang Yang were responsible for quality control. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Chun-Jui Huang and Jia-Zhen Li. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Fan-Fen Wang or Chen-Chang Yang.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (IRB No: 2021-06-006B).

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent to Publish

Not applicable.

Competing Interests

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, CJ., Li, JZ., Hwu, CM. et al. Determination of the Elemental Iodine in Human Breast Milk by Inductively Coupled Plasma mass Spectrometry. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 1517–1523 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03786-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03786-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation