title: The determination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the colostrums of women in preterm labor.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: De-Cai
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Chang-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010573:Pesticide Residues