title: Validated analytical methodology for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of pesticides in human blood using GC-MS/MS and LC-ESI/MS/MS and its application in two poisoning cases.
abstract: Pesticides are frequently responsible for human poisoning and often the information on the involved substance is lacking. The great variety of pesticides that could be responsible for intoxication makes necessary the development of powerful and versatile analytical methodologies, which allows the identification of the unknown toxic substance. Here we developed a methodology for simultaneous identification and quantification in human blood of 109 highly toxic pesticides. The application of this analytical scheme would help in minimizing the cost of this type of chemical identification, maximizing the chances of identifying the pesticide involved. In the methodology that we present here, we use a liquid-liquid extraction, followed by one single purification step, and quantitation of analytes by a combination of liquid and gas chromatography, both coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, which is operated in the mode of multiple reaction monitoring. The methodology has been fully validated, and its applicability has been demonstrated in two recent cases involving one self-poisoning fatality and one non-fatal homicidal attempt.
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Canary Islands Government, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe, s/n 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Electronic address: operez@dcc.ulpgc.es.
authors.forename: Octavio P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Luzardo
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Canary Islands Government, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe, s/n 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Maira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Almeida-González
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Norberto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Suárez
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Canary Islands Government, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe, s/n 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zumbado
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Henríquez-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Canary Islands Government, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe, s/n 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Meilán
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Canary Islands Government, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe, s/n 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Boada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010575:Pesticides / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis; D013405:Suicide; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides
keywords: Forensic science; Forensic toxicology; GC–MS/MS; LC–MS/MS; Multiresidue; Pesticide poisoning