title: Mineral oil in human tissues, part II: characterization of the accumulated hydrocarbons by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography.
abstract: Mineral oil hydrocarbons are by far the largest contaminant in the human body. Their composition differs from that in the mineral oils humans are exposed to, and varies also between different tissues of the same individual. Using the presently best technique for characterizing the composition of mineral oil hydrocarbons, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), the hydrocarbons in human tissues were compared to those of various mineral oils. This provided information about the strongly accumulated species and might give hints on the flow path through the human body. The selectivity of accumulation is probably also of interest for the risk assessment of synthetic hydrocarbons (polyolefins). GC×GC grouped the MOSH into classes of n-alkanes, paraffins with a low degree of branching, multibranched paraffins and naphthenes (alkylated cyclic hydrocarbons) with 1-4 rings. Metabolic elimination was observed for constituents of all these classes, but was selective within each class. The MOSH in the subcutaneous abdominal fat tissues and the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) had almost the same composition and included the distinct signals observed in mineral oil, though in reduced amounts relative to the cloud of unresolved hydrocarbons. The MOSH in the liver and the spleen were different from those in the MLN and fat tissue, but again with largely identical composition for a given individual. Virtually all constituents forming distinct signals were eliminated, leaving an unresolved residue of highly isomerized hydrocarbons.
authors: Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zurich, Zurich, Fehrenstrasse 15, P.O. Box 1471, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors: Maurus
authors: M
authors: Biedermann
authors: Università di Udine, Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, via Sondrio 2/A, I-33100 Udine, Italy.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Barp
authors: Clinical Institute for Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Kornauth
authors: Clinical Institute for Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Würger
authors: Clinical Institute for Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
authors: Margaretha
authors: M
authors: Rudas
authors: Department of Pathology, Danube Hospital, Langobardenstr. 122, A-1220 Vienna, Austria.
authors: Angelika
authors: A
authors: Reiner
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstr. 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors: Nicole
authors: N
authors: Concin
authors: Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zurich, Zurich, Fehrenstrasse 15, P.O. Box 1471, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: koni@grob.org.
authors: Koni
authors: K
authors: Grob
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008899:Mineral Oil / Q000378:metabolism*; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008899:Mineral Oil
keywords: Abdominal fat tissue; Accumulation; Liver; Mesenteric lymph nodes; Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH); Spleen