title: Determination of human urinary organophosphate flame retardant metabolites by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: Organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFR), phosphorus triesters, are widely used chemicals with a high share of the worldwide flame retardant market. In animal experiments, dialkyl- and diarylphosphates are the main metabolites of OPFR. Therefore we elaborated a GC-MS/MS-method for the detection of OPFR-metabolites in human urine after solid phase extraction and derivatization with pentafluorobenzylbromide. The limits of detection range from 0.1 to 1 microg/l. Interday imprecision were 2-8%. The applicability of the method is shown by determination of the internal burden of 30 persons of the German general population. OPFR-metabolite concentrations range from <LOD to 27.5 microg/l for bis-(2-chlorethyl)-phosphate and <LOD to 4.1 microg/l for diphenylphosphate. Di-m-cresylphosphate and di-p-cresylphosphate cannot be detected in any of the native urine samples.
authors.affiliation: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social- and Environmental Medicine, Schillerstrasse 25/29, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit Karin
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Schindler
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Förster
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Angerer
mesh_terms: D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000652:urine*; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005411:Flame Retardants; D010755:Organophosphates