{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:57:05Z","timestamp":1785430625568,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782950400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100011875","name":"Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["1365949110240"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1365949110240"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100011875","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["1365949110240"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1365949110240"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03fd5ne08","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoX"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during pregnancy has been associated with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and spontaneous abortion. Exposure occurs through multiple pathways, including dietary intake and inhalation, which ultimately determine the final body burden. PAHs may reach relevant levels in the blood, representing the initial step in their internal distribution to the placenta, umbilical cord, and breast milk, thereby compromising maternal\u2013fetal health. In this exploratory study, maternal blood samples were collected from pregnant women residing in different regions of Antioquia, Colombia. Serum was isolated from whole blood, subsequently extracted using freezing-assisted liquid\u2013liquid extraction, purified by solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by GC\u2013MS. Method performance showed PAH recoveries between 60 and 120%, limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.5 to 3.3 ng\u00b7mL\u22121, and limits of quantification (LOQ) ranging from 1.4 to 9.9 ng\u00b7mL\u22121. Airborne PAH concentrations were measured using a photoelectric aerosol sensor, and higher levels were observed in municipalities intersected by major highways, indicating a strong vehicular contribution, with an average concentration of 72.6 \u00b1 39.2 ng\u00b7m\u22123. Low and medium-molecular weight PAHs were detected in serum samples at an average concentration of 43.8 \u00b1 8.8 ng\u00b7g\u22121 of lipid (mean of \u2211 individual congeners). In contrast, a high-molecular-weight PAH, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), was detected in one participant. Pyrene (PYR) and fluoranthene (FLU) were the predominant congeners, suggesting combustion-related sources, primarily vehicular emissions. Serum PAH levels showed a correlation with the frequency of consumption of canned fish and meat, but not with short-term airborne PAH measurements. These exploratory findings suggest that dietary intake is a primary pathway of bioaccumulation during acute exposure and plays a key role in determining the parental PAHs burden during pregnancy in polluted environments. However, additional data on parent PAHs and their metabolites are needed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of cumulative exposure arising from dietary sources and chronic inhalation of airborne PAHs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jox16040124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T10:04:44Z","timestamp":1782986684000},"page":"124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Pregnancy Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Exploratory Comparative Levels in Blood Serum Samples from Different Regions in Antioquia, Colombia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5348-6230","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jhon Fredy","family":"Narv\u00e1ez-Valderrama","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n Ingeniar, Facultad de Ingenier\u00edas, Corporaci\u00f3n Universitaria Remington, Calle 51 No. 51-27, Medell\u00edn 050012, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3654-6710","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Jos\u00e9","family":"Garc\u00eda-Londo\u00f1o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n Materialograf\u00eda, Transici\u00f3n Energ\u00e9tica y Ambiente (MATREA), Facultad de Ingenier\u00edas, Corporaci\u00f3n Universitaria Remington, Calle 51 No. 51-27, Medell\u00edn 050012, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9071-8686","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan David","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Calder\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaciones Biom\u00e9dicas UniRemington, Corporaci\u00f3n Universitaria Remington, Calle 51 No. 51-27, Medell\u00edn 050012, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yileni","family":"Argoti-Ospina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n Ingeniar, Facultad de Ingenier\u00edas, Corporaci\u00f3n Universitaria Remington, Calle 51 No. 51-27, Medell\u00edn 050012, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriel Jaime","family":"Maya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaciones y Mediciones Ambientales GEMA, Facultad de Ingenier\u00edas, Universidad de Medell\u00edn, Carrera 87 No. 30-65, Medell\u00edn 050026, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8462-1124","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge L.","family":"Gallego","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Bioengineering Research Group\u2014GRINBIO, Department of Engineering, University of Medellin, Medell\u00edn 050026, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5491-7322","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Luisa","family":"Urrego","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaciones Biom\u00e9dicas UniRemington, Corporaci\u00f3n Universitaria Remington, Calle 51 No. 51-27, Medell\u00edn 050012, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9041-1799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos Daniel","family":"Ramos-Contreras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n en Gesti\u00f3n y Modelaci\u00f3n Ambiental\u2014GAIA, Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda-Escuela de Microbiologia, Universidad de Antioquia\u2014U.de.A, Calle 70 No 52-21, Medell\u00edn 050010, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1515\/reveh-2017-0033","article-title":"Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Spontaneous Abortion and Stillbirth","volume":"33","author":"Grippo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Rev. 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