title: Determination of resin acids during production of wood pellets--a comparison of HPLC/ESI-MS with the GC/FID MDHS 83/2 method.
abstract: Resin acids are constituents of natural and technical products of widespread use. Exposure is known to cause health effects in the airways and on the skin. Liquid chromatography/positive ion electrospray-mass spectrometry (HPLC/pos ESI-MS) was investigated for determination of 7-oxodehydroabietic (7-OXO), dehydroabietic (DHAA) and abietic acid (AA) in wood dust-containing air samples as a derivatisation-free alternative to the GC/FID HSE method 83/2, developed by the Health and Safety Executive UK. The resin acid 7-OXO was measured as a marker for oxidised resin acids, which are known to be the main contact allergens in colophonium. The found detection limits were 0.42 ng m(-3) for 7-OXO, 5.2 ng m(-3) for DHAA and 9.4 ng m(-3) for AA, respectively, which are considerably lower than with the GC/FID method (24, 115 and 89 ng m(-3)). The two methods correlated well, although consistently and significantly lower concentrations of 7-OXO were detected with LC/MS. The higher concentration of this compound with MDHS 83/2 is suggested to be an artefact from the derivatisation step in the presence of soluble wood dust remains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, SE 701 85, Örebro, Sweden. sara.axelsson@orebroll.se
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Axelsson
authors.forename: Kåre
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nilsson
mesh_terms: D045784:Abietanes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D045784:Abietanes; D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; C013913:dehydroabietic acid; C095375:7-oxodehydroabietic acid; C023710:abietic acid