An In Vitro Method for Estimation of Arsenic Relative Bioavailability in Soil

Abstract

This report summarizes the results of a study to develop an in vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) extraction technique for estimating the relative bioavailability (RBA) of arsenic (As) in soil. The study was implemented in several steps. In step 1, key variables in the extraction protocol were identified. In step 2, 21 different extraction conditions were tested on 12 different soils with reliable RBA values measured in swine or monkeys to identify which yielded useful in vivo–in vitro correlations (IVIVC). In step 3, three extraction conditions were evaluated using 39 different test soils to make a final selection of the best IVIVC. In step 4, the within- and between-lab reproducibility of the extraction method was examined. The optimum IVIVC model for swine utilized a pH 1.5 IVBA extraction fluid, with an R ² value of .723. For monkeys, the optimum IVIVC model was obtained using a pH 7 IVBA extraction fluid that contained phosphate, with an R ² value of .755. Within-lab precision of IVBA results was typically less than 3%, with an average of 0.8% for all 4 labs. Between-lab variation in mean IVBA values was generally less than 7%, with an overall average of 3%. The principal advantages of this IVBA method compared to other in vitro methods described in the literature are that (1) the fluids and extraction conditions are simple, (2) the results have been calibrated against a larger data set than any other method, and (3) the method has been demonstrated to be reproducible both within and between labs.

Notes

This work was supported by contract awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (contract GS-00F-0019L) and the U.S. Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) (grant ESTCP ER-0916). The authors acknowledge the work of Angela Wahlquist and Penny Hunter, who contributed to the early stages of this project.