title: Evaluation of Multiple Blood Matrices for Assessment of Human Exposure to Nerve Agents.
abstract: Biomedical samples may be used to determine human exposure to nerve agents through the analysis of specific biomarkers. Samples received may include serum, plasma, whole blood, lysed blood and, due to the toxicity of these compounds, postmortem blood. To quantitate metabolites resulting from exposure to sarin (GB), soman (GD), cyclosarin (GF), VX and VR, these blood matrices were evaluated individually for precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Accuracies for these metabolites ranged from 100 to 113% with coefficients of variation ranging from 2.31 to 13.5% across a reportable range of 1-100 ng/mL meeting FDA recommended guidelines for bioanalytical methods in all five matrices. Limits of detection were calculated to be 0.09-0.043 ng/mL, and no interferences were detected in unexposed matrix samples. The use of serum calibrators was also determined to be a suitable alternative to matrix-matched calibrators. Finally, to provide a comparative value between whole blood and plasma, the ratio of the five nerve agent metabolites measured in whole blood versus plasma was determined. Analysis of individual whole blood samples (n = 40), fortified with nerve agent metabolites across the reportable range, resulted in average nerve agent metabolite blood to plasma ratios ranging from 0.53 to 0.56. This study demonstrates the accurate and precise quantitation of nerve agent metabolites in serum, plasma, whole blood, lysed blood and postmortem blood. It also provides a comparative value between whole blood and plasma samples, which can assist epidemiologists and physicians with interpretation of test results from blood specimens obtained under variable conditions.
authors: Oak Ridge Institute for Scientific Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors: Nicholas D
authors: ND
authors: Schulze
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA eph3@cdc.gov.
authors: Elizabeth I
authors: EI
authors: Hamelin
authors: Battelle, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
authors: W Rucks
authors: WR
authors: Winkeljohn
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
authors: Rebecca L
authors: RL
authors: Shaner
authors: Battelle, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
authors: Brian J
authors: BJ
authors: Basden
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
authors: B Rey
authors: BR
authors: deCastro
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
authors: Brooke G
authors: BG
authors: Pantazides
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
authors: Jerry D
authors: JD
authors: Thomas
authors: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
authors: Rudolph C
authors: RC
authors: Johnson
mesh_terms: D004355:Drug Stability; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D000067397:Nerve Agents / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000067397:Nerve Agents