| Urinary Levoglucosan as a Biomarker of Wood Smoke Exposure: Observations in a Mouse Model and in Children Christopher T. Migliaccio,1 Megan A. Bergauff,2 Christopher P. Palmer,2 Forrest Jessop,1 Curtis W. Noonan,1 and Tony J. Ward1 1Center for Environmental Health Sciences, and 2Department of Chemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA Abstract
Background: Biomass smoke is an important source of particulate matter (PM) , and much remains to be discovered with respect to the human health effects associated with this specific PM source. Exposure to biomass smoke can occur in one of two main categories: short-term exposures consist of periodic, seasonal exposures typified by communities near forest fires or intentional agricultural burning, and long-term exposures are chronic and typified by the use of biomass materials for cooking or heating. Levoglucosan (LG) , a sugar anhydride released by combustion of cellulose-containing materials, is an attractive candidate as a biomarker of wood smoke exposure. Objectives: In the present study, Balb/c mice and children were assessed for LG in urine to determine its feasibility as a biomarker. Methods: We performed urinary detection of LG by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry after intranasal instillations of LG or concentrated PM (mice) or biomass exposure (mice or humans) . Results: After instillation, we recovered most of the LG within the first 4 hr. Experiments using glucose instillation proved the specificity of our system, and instillation of concentrated PM from wood smoke, ambient air, and diesel exhaust supported a connection between wood smoke and LG. In addition, LG was detected in the urine of mice exposed to wood smoke. Finally, a pilot human study proved our ability to detect LG in urine of children. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that LG in the lungs is detectable in the urine of both mice and humans and that it is a good candidate as a biomarker of exposure to biomass smoke. Key words: biomass, children, instillation, levoglucosan, mouse, urine, wood smoke. Environ Health Perspect 117:74–79 (2009) . doi:10.1289/ehp.11378 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 15 August 2008]
Address correspondence to C.T. Migliaccio, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, 285C Skaggs Building, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812 USA. Telephone: (406) 243-4907. Fax: (406) 243-2807. E-mail: christopher.migliaccio@umontana.edu We thank A. Holian and M. Morandi for their advice and consultation with the mouse exposure studies and deposition calculations, and S. Jinright for her help collecting and analyzing mouse samples. This work is supported by National Institutes of Health grant RR-017670 and Health Effects Institute grant 4743-RFA04-4/06-4. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 15 February 2008 ; accepted 15 August 2008.
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