| Summary: | Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder,
and because maternal self-reports are often unreliable, a biomarker of alcohol use during
pregnancy is needed to accurately determine fetal exposure. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a
direct metabolite of ethanol that has been detected in the meconium of infants born to mothers
who consumed alcohol during pregnancy. In the current study, a method was developed and
validated for EtG detection in placental perfusate and tissue using gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry. Subsequently, the ex vivo human placental perfusion model was used to
investigate whether EtG crosses the human placenta. The validated GC-MS method showed
sufficient sensitivity in detecting EtG in placental perfusate and tissue. EtG crossed the
placenta slowly and transfer was incomplete after 3 hours of perfusion. EtG appears to cross
the human placenta and, hence, to represent both maternal and fetal exposure to alcohol.
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