Objective: To investigate and compare the lipids of mattress dust from urban and rural school children in China.
Methods: Dusts from beddings of twenty schoolchildren in urban Guangzhou and rural Conghua were collected and extracted following the Bligh and Dyer method. Lipidomic profiling was carried out by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF)-MS-based approach using a Waters Xevo G2 Q-TOF mass spectrometer with an electrospray ion source (ESI). Mass spectra were acquired in the range of m/z 50~1200 in both positive and negative ionization mode. Raw data were then processed using XCMS, SIMCA-P and multivariate statistical analysis, then compared with database to identify lipid components.
Results: The established models of lipid profiling were statistically valid and well fit. Urban and rural dusts showed differential composition of lipid molecules. A total of 8986 and 4742 metabolites were detected in positive and negative ionization mode, respectively. Fourteen lipid molecules were finally identified. Oleamide, Cer (d18:0/14:0), MG (0:0/18:3/0:0), two LysoPAs, 16-hydroxy hexadecanoic acid and phytomonic acid were abundant in rural dust, whereas Cer (t18:0/16:0), DG (36:7), two LysoPCs, PA (16:0e/18:0), PC (32:1) and PG (P-16:0/14:1) were abundant in urban dust.
Conclusions: This is the first report suggesting that children from urban and rural areas are exposed to discrepant environmental lipids. Potential responses to the identified lipids should be further investigated.
Keywords: Mattress dust; lipidomics; urban and rural; indoor air