# Noninvasive Pesticide Biomonitoring Using Sweat Patches

> **NIH ALLCDC R21** · FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $192,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Chronic low-dose exposure to agricultural pesticides is widely accepted as a fundamental health threat to
farmworkers. Unfortunately, delineating sources of variation in pesticide exposure among farmworkers and the
long-term consequences of pesticide exposure is hampered by measurement challenges, particularly the
absence of an easy, nonintrusive strategy for pesticide biomonitoring. Sweat patches offer a compelling
alternative for assessing exposure to pesticides in field studies. Evidence indicates that pesticide metabolites
are found in sweat, and sweat patches are being used routinely now in drug monitoring studies. The goal of this
interdisciplinary study is to determine the feasibility of using sweat patches for biomonitoring pesticide exposure
among Latino farmworkers. We will test the hypothesis that sweat patch sampling will allow for sensitive and
consistent measurements with a high rate of compliance. The aims of this feasibility study are to: 1) develop and
assess the accuracy and precision of laboratory techniques used to measure pesticides and their metabolites
extracted from sweat patches and 2) determine the levels and variance in concentrations of pesticides and
metabolites obtained from sweat to those obtained from urine. A secondary aim is to document challenges and
problems experienced by farmworkers in using (e.g., opening, applying, wearing removing, and storing) the
sweat patches. Advantages of sweat patches to traditional urine screening include the patch being noninvasive,
showing increased compliance, and reducing financial cost for future research in this field. Our proposed work
involves a combination of both laboratory and field procedures, and the subsequent integration will result in a
highly translational project with substantial occupational health impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10691359
- **Project number:** 5R21OH012124-02
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSEPH G. GRZYWACZ
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $192,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10691359

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10691359, Noninvasive Pesticide Biomonitoring Using Sweat Patches (5R21OH012124-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10691359. Licensed CC0.

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