Determination of the major mercapturic acids of 1,3-butadiene in human and rat urine using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

• Published in: Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences, 2003-10, Vol.796 (1), p.131-140
• Main Authors: Urban, Michael, Gilch, Gerhard, Schepers, Georg, Miert, Erik van, Scherer, Gerhard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1,3-Butadiene; Acetylcysteine - urine; Adult; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Calibration; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Gas, fumes; Humans; Male; Mass Spectrometry - methods; Medical sciences; Mercapturic acids; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Toxicology
• ISSN: 1570-0232; 1873-376X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2003.08.009

The major urinary metabolites of 1,3-butadiene are monohydroxybutenyl-mercapturic acids (MHBMA) and dihydroxy-butyl-mercapturic acid (DHBMA). These metabolites can be used as biomarkers of exposure to this diene. In order to determine the smoking-related exposure to 1,3-butadiene, we have developed a rapid LC-MS/MS method for the determination of MHBMA and DHBMA in urine of humans and rats. The method requires 2–5 ml of urine which is solid phase extracted prior to LC-MS/MS analysis. Precision for MHBMA is ≤11.2% for human and ≤17% for rat urine. Corresponding values for DHBMA are ≤7.2 and ≤19%, respectively. Recovery rates are approximately 100% for both analytes in human urine and about 115% in rat urine. Limits of detection (LOD) are for humans 0.9 and 23 ng/ml and for rats 1.5 and 33 ng/ml for MHBMA and DHBMA, respectively. Application of the method to urine of humans and rats showed a significant effect of tobacco smoke exposure on the urinary excretion of MHBMA and the metabolic ratio DHBMA/(DHBMA + MHBMA).