Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: Bioaccumulation Potentials in Humans and Levels in Blood before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 55; no. 21; pp. 14689 - 14698
• Main Authors: Zheng, Guomao, Webster, Thomas F, Salamova, Amina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 02.11.2021
• Subjects: Ammonium; Ammonium compounds; Bioaccumulation; Biomonitoring; Blood; blood proteins; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 infection; Disinfectants; Ecotoxicology and Public Health; environmental monitoring; Epidemiology; Humans; in vitro to in vivo extrapolation; In vivo methods and tests; Medical equipment; Metabolism; pandemic; Pandemics; Protein turnover; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; Quaternary ammonium salts; Risk assessment; SARS-CoV-2; Serum proteins; technology; toxicology; Biomonitoring; In vitro−in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE); Disinfectants; Covid-19; Bioaccumulation; Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs)
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01654

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are commonly used in a variety of consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical products. In this study, bioaccumulation potentials of 18 QACs with alkyl chain lengths of C8–C18 were determined in the in vitro–in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) model using the results of human hepatic metabolism and serum protein binding experiments. The slowest in vivo clearance rates were estimated for C12-QACs, suggesting that these compounds may preferentially build up in blood. The bioaccumulation of QACs was further confirmed by the analysis of human blood (sera) samples (n = 222). Fifteen out of the 18 targeted QACs were detected in blood with the ΣQAC concentrations reaching up to 68.6 ng/mL. The blood samples were collected during two distinct time periods: before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019; n = 111) and during the pandemic (2020, n = 111). The ΣQAC concentrations were significantly higher in samples collected during the pandemic (median 6.04 ng/mL) than in those collected before (median 3.41 ng/mL). This is the first comprehensive study on the bioaccumulation and biomonitoring of the three major QAC groups and our results provide valuable information for future epidemiological, toxicological, and risk assessment studies targeting these chemicals.