The determination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the colostrums of women in preterm labor.
BACKGROUND
Human milk not only contains nutrients and antibodies, but also can be used as an indicator for levels of organic pollutants in human bodies. We developed a method for determining persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the colostrum of women in preterm labor, the POPs of 36 colostrum samples have been examined.


METHODS
Thirty-six samples of colostrum from preterm women were extracted by acetone-acetonitrile, enriched and purified by solid-phase Florisil columns. The purified POPs were further separated by the capillary columns, and detected by the gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD).


RESULTS
The average recovery rates of 6 types of organochlorine-based pesticides were 80.2%-112.1%, which represent the first 3 categories of the 12 species of POPs. The precise quantities detected were 3.85%-9.32% (the limits of detection were 0.03 microg/l to 0.08 microg/l), and the linear correlation coefficients were >or=0.9969. Of the 36 women tested, 10 (27.8%) were found to have colostrums containing traces of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), and 2 (5.56%) were tested positive for dieldrin.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of using GC-ECD proved to be both accurate and reliable, and this process proved to be both simple and time-effective. This method is applicable for determining the levels of POPs in organisms.
Wang
De-Cai
DC
Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
Yu
Ping
P
Zhang
Yang
Y
Cui
Yu
Y
Sun
Chang-Hao
CH
D000328:Adult; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D003126:Colostrum / Q000737:chemistry*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011247:Pregnancy
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010573:Pesticide Residues