Early-life chemical exposome: Comprehensive strategies for wide-scope screening of organic compounds

Exposure to organic compounds during early-life stages can disrupt human development and increase susceptibility to adverse health outcomes later in life. Despite evidence of these impacts, research has primarily focused on targeted analyses, missing the complex nature of early-life exposures. Comprehensive approaches are needed to better characterize these complex mixtures. Recent advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry and computational science have enabled the comprehensive analysis of numerous chemicals through wide-scope screening approaches, yet their application in early-life exposome studies is still limited. This review critically examines studies from the past decade using wide-scope screening to investigate the early-life chemical exposome, emphasizing organic compounds. It evaluates each step of the analytical workflow, including sample collection, preparation, analysis, and data processing, and concludes with recommendations for future research to improve understanding of the early-life chemical exposome and its health implications.