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Unravelling airborne complexities: the role of spider webs and indoor dust in assessing human exposure to indoor organic micropollutants

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2026)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Indoor environments serve as critical exposure pathways for airborne micropollutants, yet traditional sampling methods often face limitations in representing dynamic air quality. Alternative, non-invasive techniques for indoor pollutant monitoring are gaining attention.

Objective

This study evaluates the use of spider webs as innovative biomonitoring tools for assessing airborne micropollutants across various indoor environments, in comparison with conventional indoor dust sampling.

Methods

Spider webs and indoor dust samples were collected from a range of indoor microenvironments, including electronic shops, textile stores, daycare centers, and décor shops. Non-target screening of micropollutants was carried out using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantification of targeted phthalates (Di-butyl phthalate (DBP), Di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), Di-methyl phthalate (DMP), Mono-butyl phthalate (MBP), Mono-methyl phthalate (MMP), and Mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP)) and bisphenol A (BPA) was performed using Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Structural distortions in spider silk due to pollutant exposure were monitored using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, focusing on alterations in the amide regions.

Results

Among the compounds detected, several were exclusive to either web or dust samples, while others were common to both. Esters and carboxylic acids were dominant in web-specific compounds, whereas esters and phenols were prevalent in both matrices. Dust samples recorded higher concentrations of DBP (mean: 10,434 ng/g) and BPA (mean: 2240 ng/g) than web samples (DBP mean: 2352 ng/g; BPA mean: 777 ng/g). ATR-FTIR analysis revealed significant shifts in amide I and II bands in spider silk collected from high-exposure areas, indicating distortion in silk protein structures in response to micropollutant accumulation.

Impact

  • This study highlights the novelty of using spider webs as sensitive, non-invasive bioindicators for indoor air quality. By employing advanced analytical techniques (GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and ATR-FTIR), we demonstrate that spider webs effectively capture and reflect the presence of airborne micropollutants. Beyond their analytical relevance, spider webs offer a cost-effective, passive, and easily deployable monitoring tool, making them particularly valuable for routine air quality assessments in high-risk microenvironments such as electronics shops and plastics/decor outlets. These findings establish spider web analysis as a promising complement to conventional indoor air monitoring approaches.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Comparison of compound distribution across dust and spider web samples.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5: Characterization of molecular composition and emerging contaminants in indoor samples.

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Data availability

Data will be made available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the partial financial support from the SPARC project (MHRD), New Delhi, and RUSA 2.0 CUSAT. Inter University Instrumentation Centre (IUIC), and Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF), Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, for instrumental support. VSM is thankful for the UGC-SRF fellowship. The NTA Study Reporting Tool (SRT) was used during peer review to document and improve the reporting and transparency of this study (10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02621; 10.6084/m9.figshare.19763503 [Excel]) [63]. The authors are also thankful to the technical support provided by Shiny Thomas, Pooja S Kumar, and Naveen S. Lal during the target and non-target analysis.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Vishnu S. Moorchilot, K. S. Aradhana.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), Kottayam, Kerala, India

    Vishnu S. Moorchilot & C. T. Aravindakumar

  2. School of Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, Kerala, India

    K. S. Aradhana & Usha K. Aravind

Authors
  1. Vishnu S. Moorchilot
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  2. K. S. Aradhana
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  3. C. T. Aravindakumar
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Contributions

VSM and KSA both contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, and writing of the original draft. CTA contributed to drafting and reviewing the manuscript, and UKA contributed to the conceptualization, drafting, and reviewing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Usha K. Aravind.

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Not applicable. This study did not involve human participants, human data, human biological material, or live vertebrate animals. Only environmental samples (dust/spider webs) were collected and analysed, which do not fall under institutional or national requirements for ethical review.

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Moorchilot, V.S., Aradhana, K.S., Aravindakumar, C.T. et al. Unravelling airborne complexities: the role of spider webs and indoor dust in assessing human exposure to indoor organic micropollutants. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-026-00839-w

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