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Influence of sebum proportion in synthetic sweat on dermal bioaccessibility and on permeation of metal(loid)s from contaminated soils

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Abstract

Even if dermal exposure to metal(loid)s from contaminated soils has received less attention than oral and inhalation exposure, the human health risk can be significant for some contaminants and exposure scenarios. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of sebum proportion (1% v/v and 3% v/v) in two synthetic sweat formulations (EN 1811, pH 6.5 (sweat A) and NIHS 96–10, pH 4.7 (sweat B)) on As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn dermal bioaccessibility and on subsequent diffusion through synthetic skin. A Franz cell with a Strat-M® membrane was used to quantify permeation parameters of bioaccessible metal(loid)s. Sebum’s presence in synthetic sweat formulations significantly modified bioaccessibility percentages for As, Cr, and Cu. However, sebum proportion in both sweats did not influence the bioaccessibility of Pb and Zn. Some metal(loid)s, namely As and Cu, permeated the synthetic skin membrane during permeation tests when sebum was added to sweat while no permeation was observed without sebum in sweat formulations. Depending on sweat formulation, the addition of sebum (1% v/v) increased or decreased the Cr permeation coefficients (Kp). In all cases, bioaccessible Cr was no longer permeable when extracted with 3% sebum. Ni transdermal permeation was not influenced by the presence of sebum, and no permeation was observed for Pb and Zn. Further studies on the speciation of metal(loid)s in bioaccessible extracts in the presence of sebum are recommended.

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Additional data is available in the Supplementary Information section.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the technical support provided by Jérôme Leroy and Zohra Laimeiche (Polytechnique Montréal) and Lan-Huong Tran (INRS-ETE).

Funding

The study was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) obtained via the Discovery Grant Program (RGPIN-2022–03225).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montreal, QC, H3C 3A7, Canada

    Florent A. Ghislain & Gerald J. Zagury

Authors
  1. Florent A. Ghislain
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  2. Gerald J. Zagury
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Florent A. Ghislain. Data analysis was performed by Florent A. Ghislain and Gérald J. Zagury. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Florent A. Ghislain, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. The submitted version was revised by Gérald J. Zagury. Funding was obtained by Gérald J. Zagury. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gerald J. Zagury.

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All co-authors permitted the submission of this manuscript to to Environmental Science and Pollution Research. Besides, all authors read the manuscript and accept responsibility for its content.

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Responsible Editor: Kitae Baek

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Highlights

• As, Cu, and Cr dermal bioaccessibility was influenced by the presence of sebum in sweat formulations.

• As and Cu were able to permeate synthetic skin only when extracted with a mixture of sweat and sebum.

• Cr permeation coefficient was clearly affected by sebum presence in sweat formulations but without consistent trend.

• Ni could permeate synthetic skin when extracted with and without sebum.

• No permeation was observed for Pb and Zn.

• The effect of sebum in sweat formulations on bioaccessibility and permeation was metal, soil, and sweat-dependent.

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Ghislain, F.A., Zagury, G.J. Influence of sebum proportion in synthetic sweat on dermal bioaccessibility and on permeation of metal(loid)s from contaminated soils. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 86762–86772 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28388-x

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