Abstract
This study aims to elucidate in greater detail the dermal uptake of nicotine from air or from nicotine-exposed clothes, which was demonstrated recently in a preliminary study. Six non-smoking participants were exposed to gaseous nicotine (between 236 and 304 μg/m3) over 5 hours while breathing clean air through a hood. Four of the participants wore only shorts and 2 wore a set of clean clothes. One week later, 2 of the bare-skinned participants were again exposed in the chamber, but they showered immediately after exposure instead of the following morning. The 2 participants who wore clean clothes on week 1 were now exposed wearing a set of clothes that had been exposed to nicotine. All urine was collected for 84 hours after exposure and analyzed for nicotine and its metabolites, cotinine and 3OH-cotinine. All participants except those wearing fresh clothes excreted substantial amounts of biomarkers, comparable to levels expected from inhalation intake. Uptake for 1 participant wearing exposed clothes exceeded estimated intake via inhalation by >50%. Biomarker excretion continued during the entire urine collection period, indicating that nicotine accumulates in the skin and is released over several days. Absorbed nicotine was significantly lower after showering in 1 subject but not the other. Differences in the normalized uptakes and in the excretion patterns were observed among the participants. The observed cotinine half-lives suggest that non-smokers exposed to airborne nicotine may receive a substantial fraction through the dermal pathway. Washing skin and clothes exposed to nicotine may meaningfully decrease exposure.
Recommended Citation
G. Bekö and G. Morrison and C. J. Weschler and H. M. Koch and C. Pälmke and T. Salthammer and T. Schripp and A. Eftekhari and J. Toftum and G. Clausen, "Dermal Uptake of Nicotine from Air and Clothing: Experimental Verification," Indoor Air, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 247 - 257, Wiley, Mar 2018.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12437
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Publication Status
Full Access
Keywords and Phrases
biomonitoring; exposure pathway; indoor environment; metabolism; skin; smoking
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1600-0668; 0905-6947
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2024 Wiley, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Mar 2018
PubMed ID
29095533
Comments
National Science Foundation, Grant 1336807