Determination of low level methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether and methyl tert-amyl ether in human urine by HS-SPME gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) are oxygenated compounds added to gasoline to enhance octane rating and to improve combustion. They may be found as pollutants of living and working environments. In this work a robotized method for the q...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytica chimica acta 2007-01, Vol.581 (1), p.53-62
Main Authors: Scibetta, Licia, Campo, Laura, Mercadante, Rosa, Foà, Vito, Fustinoni, Silvia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical chemistry
Applied sciences
Biomarkers
Chemistry
Chromatographic methods and physical methods associated with chromatography
Ethyl Ethers - urine
Ethyl tert-butyl ether
Exact sciences and technology
Gas chromatographic methods
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods
Global environmental pollution
Humans
Methyl Ethers - urine
Methyl tert-butyl ether
Occupational exposure
Pollution
Solid Phase Extraction - methods
Solid phase microextraction
Spectrometric and optical methods
tert-Amyl methyl ether
Urine
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Summary:Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) are oxygenated compounds added to gasoline to enhance octane rating and to improve combustion. They may be found as pollutants of living and working environments. In this work a robotized method for the quantification of low level MTBE, ETBE and TAME in human urine was developed and validated. The analytes were sampled in the headspace of urine by SPME in the presence of MTBE-d12 as internal standard. Different fibers were compared for their linearity and extraction efficiency: carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane, polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene, and polydimethylsiloxane. The first, although highly efficient, was discarded due to deviation of linearity for competitive displacement, and the polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene fiber was chosen instead. The analysis was performed by GC/MS operating in the electron impact mode. The method is very specific, with range of linearity 30–4600 ng L −1, within- and between-run precision, as coefficient of variation,
ISSN:0003-2670
1873-4324
DOI:10.1016/j.aca.2006.07.083