Uranium(VI) Binding Forms in Selected Human Body Fluids: Thermodynamic Calculations versus Spectroscopic Measurements

Human exposure to uranium increasingly becomes a subject of interest in many scientific disciplines such as environmental medicine, toxicology, and radiation protection. Knowledge about uranium chemical binding forms (speciation) in natural body fluids can be of great importance not only to understand its biokinetics, but also relevant for risk assessment and for designing decorporation therapy in the case of accidental overexposure. In this study, thermodynamic calculations of uranium speciation in relevant simulated and original body fluids were compared with spectroscopic data after ex-situ uranium addition. For the first time, experimental data on U(VI) speciation in natural body fluids (saliva, sweat, urine) was obtained by means of cryogenic time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (cryo-TRLFS) at 153 K. By using the time dependency of fluorescence decay and the band positions of the emission spectra, various uranyl complexes were demonstrated in the studied samples. The variations of the body fluids in terms of chemical composition, pH, and ionic strength resulted in different binding forms of U(VI). The speciation of U(VI) in saliva and in urine was affected by the presence of bioorganic ligands, whereas in sweat, the distribution depends mainly on inorganic ligands. We also elucidated the role of biological buffers, i.e., phosphate (H2PO4-/HPO42-) on U(VI) distribution, and the system Ca2+/UO22+/PO43- was discussed in detail in both saliva and urine. The theoretical speciation calculations of the main U(VI) species in the investigated body fluids were significantly consistent with the spectroscopic data. Laser fluorescence spectroscopy showed success and reliability for direct determination of U(VI) in such biological matrices with the possibility for further improvement.