Exposomic Assessment of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Hair: A Cross-Matrix Comparison with Serum and Urine by LC-HRMS and Metabolite Profiling.
7 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, TecnATox, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Sant Llorenç 21, 43201Reus, Spain.
- 2Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) , Doctor Mallafré Guasch 4, 43005Tarragona, Spain.
- 3Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034Barcelona, Spain.
- 4Department of Environmental Science (ACES, Exposure & Effects), Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Stockholm106 91, Sweden.
- 5São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo (EESC-USP), João Dagnone Ave 1100, São Carlos13563-120, Brazil.
- 6Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Plaça Dr. Robert 5, 08221Terrassa, Spain.
- 7Institut Hospital del Mar , Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are increasingly implicated in chronic diseases, yet their biomonitoring in human studies still relies mainly on urine and serum, which capture only short-term exposure to these fast-elimination compounds. Here, we evaluated hair as a complementary and long-term biomonitoring matrix for EDC mixtures by integrating it into an LC-HRMS exposomics workflow together with paired serum and urine samples. We developed and validated a method targeting 44 endocrine disruptors from five chemical families (benzophenones, phthalates, parabens, bisphenols, and organophosphate esters), combining quantitative analysis with suspect screening and semi-quantification of phase II metabolites. Applied to samples from 20 postmenopausal women, the hair-based approach provided the broadest coverage and highest concentrations (31/44 compounds), up to about three orders of magnitude higher than in urine or serum, consistent with distinct accumulation mechanisms and temporal integration windows. In hair, EDCs were present in unconjugated form (>99%), whereas urine was dominated by conjugated metabolites and serum showed limited detection. Overall, these findings demonstrate that integrating hair into multimatrix exposomics designs substantially expands both the chemical and temporal resolution of human exposure assessment.
Related
- Relations between developmental dental defects and exposure to environmental toxicants exhibiting endocrine disrupting activity
- In vitro and in vivo studies of the endocrine disrupting potency of cadmium in roach (Rutilus rutilus) liver
- Implications of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals for Human Health and Effective Methods for Prevention and Reduction
- Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in male reproductive health: exposure risks, reproductive toxicity and emerging perspectives.
- Is Exposure to Certain Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Associated with Increased Skin Cancer Risk?
BibTeX
@article{gonzalezruiz2026exposomic,
title = {{Exposomic Assessment of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Hair: A Cross-Matrix Comparison with Serum and Urine by LC-HRMS and Metabolite Profiling.}},
author = {Ana González-Ruiz and Adrià Sunyer-Caldú and Rodrigo Braz Carneiro and Esteban Restrepo-Montes and Olivia Ballester-Miró and Alejandro Lobato-Berezo and Ramón M Pujol and Montse Marquès and Rubén Gil-Solsona and Pablo Gago-Ferrero},
journal = {Environmental science \& technology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/acs.est.6c05029},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42916270},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exposomic Assessment of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Hair: A Cross-Matrix Comparison with Serum and Urine by LC-HRMS and Metabolite Profiling.
AU - Ana González-Ruiz
AU - Adrià Sunyer-Caldú
AU - Rodrigo Braz Carneiro
AU - Esteban Restrepo-Montes
AU - Olivia Ballester-Miró
AU - Alejandro Lobato-Berezo
AU - Ramón M Pujol
AU - Montse Marquès
AU - Rubén Gil-Solsona
AU - Pablo Gago-Ferrero
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Environmental science & technology
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.6c05029
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42916270
AB - Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are increasingly implicated in chronic diseases, yet their biomonitoring in human studies still relies mainly on urine and serum, which capture only short-term exposure to these fast-elimination compounds. Here, we evaluated hair as a complementary and long-term biomonitoring matrix for EDC mixtures by integrating it into an LC-HRMS exposomics workflow together with paired serum and urine samples. We developed and validated a method targeting 44 endocrine disruptors from five chemical families (benzophenones, phthalates, parabens, bisphenols, and organophosphate esters), combining quantitative analysis with suspect screening and semi-quantification of phase II metabolites. Applied to samples from 20 postmenopausal women, the hair-based approach provided the broadest coverage and highest concentrations (31/44 compounds), up to about three orders of magnitude higher than in urine or serum, consistent with distinct accumulation mechanisms and temporal integration windows. In hair, EDCs were present in unconjugated form (>99%), whereas urine was dominated by conjugated metabolites and serum showed limited detection. Overall, these findings demonstrate that integrating hair into multimatrix exposomics designs substantially expands both the chemical and temporal resolution of human exposure assessment.
SN - 0013-936X
SN - 1520-5851
ER -