title: Development of an analytical method for the determination of arsenic in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for biological monitoring of exposure to inorganic arsenic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to develop an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of inorganic arsenic [As(III) and As(V)] and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the biological monitoring of exposure to inorganic arsenic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Arsenic compounds (after reduction of arsenic to the trivalent state) were derivatized with 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanol and then analyzed using a GC-MS. The proposed method was validated according to the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The accuracy of the proposed method was confirmed by analyzing Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2669 (National Institute of Standards and Technology).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Calibration curves showed linearity in the range 1-100 μg/l for each of the arsenic species, with correlation coefficients of >0.999. For each of the arsenic species, the limits of detection and quantification were 0.2 μg/l and 1 μg/l, respectively. The recoveries were 96-100%, 99-102% and 99-112% for As(III), As(V) and MMA, respectively. Intraday accuracy and precision were 82.7-99.8% and 0.9-7.4%, respectively. Interday accuracy and precision were 81.3-100.0% and 0.8-9.9%, respectively. The analytical values of SRM 2669 obtained by the proposed method were sufficiently accurate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed method overcame the disadvantages of high-performance liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. It was a robust, selective and cost-effective method suitable for routine analyses and could be useful for the biological monitoring of occupational exposure to inorganic arsenic.
authors.affiliation: Osaka Occupational Health Service Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, Japan. a-takeuchi@jisha.or.jp
authors.forename: Akito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Namera
authors.forename: Yaeko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawasumi
authors.forename: Tsutoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imanaka
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakui
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Kimiaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sumino
authors.forename: Ginji
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Endo
mesh_terms: D001152:Arsenicals / Q000652:urine*; D002138:Calibration; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals