title: Polyurethane foam chips combined with liquid chromatography in the determination of unmetabolized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons excreted in human urine.
abstract: A method suitable for the determination of unmetabolized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) excreted at trace levels (ng/L) in human urine for the monitoring of exposure of the general population to PAH contamination was developed. PAHs were determined, after enrichment by solid-phase extraction on polyurethane foam (PUF) chips, by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Different parameters affecting analyte extraction to the PUF, including urine salting-out and organic additives, and optimization of conditions for clean-up and desorption have been investigated. Optimized conditions were 40 mL acidified urine sample, added with magnesium sulfate, tetrahydrofuran and a 2 cm3 PUF chip, and extracted by shaking at 30 rpm for 1 h at ambient temperature. Desorption was performed, after a clean-up step with diluted sodium hydroxide, using a small amount of diethyl ether. The recovery of PAH congeners from spiked urines was >90% in the 2-100 ng/L range; the detection limit was 0.1-0.5 ng/L, depending on the considered PAH congener; day-to-day precision, at 50 ng/L native PAH content, was CV = 10-20%. The proposed technique provides a simple, economical and effective procedure for the determination of trace amounts of unmetabolized PAHs excreted in human urine spot samples.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Dipartimento di Medicina del Lavoro, Laboratorio di Tossicologia Professionale, via S. Barnaba 8, 20122 Milan, Italy. marina.buratti@unimi.it
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buratti
authors.forename: Oronzo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valla
authors.forename: Federico Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rubino
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Verduci
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colombi
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000652:urine*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012015:Reference Standards; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; D011140:Polyurethanes