Credit: A. Holt/NIST
Former NIST postdoctoral researcher Abby Wenzel demonstrates the extraction process for the measurements of DINCH metabolites in urine.
Detergents, shampoos, soaps and other everyday items sometimes contain a group of chemicals called phthalates, which are often used to enhance products and add flexibility to plastics. However, mounting research has shown a link between phthalates and effects on hormones in humans, laboratory animals and wildlife, which is why phthalates are increasingly being replaced with other chemicals, such as a compound called DINCH.
In collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyzed urine samples from pregnant women to look for the presence of DINCH, which is short for di(isononyl)cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate. They found concentrations of DINCH in most of the urine samples but no evidence of effects in lab assays on two hormones, progesterone and estrogen. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Chemosphere.
Phthalates are often called plasticizers and can be found not only in personal care products to help them maintain a gel-like consistency but also in garden hoses, inflatable toys and medical tubing. “They are used to provide flexibility in plastics. Think of a rubber ducky and how squishy it is. That’s because of phthalates in vinyl,” said NIST researcher John Kucklick.
However, phthalates can disrupt the hormonal or endocrine system, which may cause pregnancy loss, infertil ..
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