The relationship between exposure to environmental and endogenous chemicals and risk of cancer and other diseases. Our approach utilizes chemical reactions, components of cells, cells in culture, and animal models for development of chemical biomarkers for application to human populations. Research Summary The Quantification of Human Exposure to Carcinogens.
Some environmental chemicals pose risks to human health.
The accurate assessment of these risks requires quantitative data on human exposure. Such data are currently estimated from measurements of the chemicals in air, water or food. Direct measurements in human blood, urine, or tissues have generally not been attempted, since the compounds involved are usually short-lived and present in low levels. We have developed an analytical approach for the quantitation of toxicologically significant compounds by monitoring their reaction products to human proteins. The proposed method is applicable to many carcinogens, mutagens, and other reactive chemicals.