Cumulative exposure assessment for trace-level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using human blood and plasma analysis.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Humans experience chronic cumulative trace-level exposure to mixtures of volatile, semi-volatile, and non-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the environment as by-products of combustion processes. Certain PAHs are known or suspected human carcinogens and so we have developed methodology for measuring their circulating (blood borne) concentrations as a tool to assess internal dose and health risk. We use liquid/liquid extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and present analytical parameters including dynamic range (0-250 ng/ml), linearity (>0.99 for all compounds), and instrument sensitivity (range 2-22 pg/ml) for a series of 22 PAHs representing 2-6-rings. The method is shown to be sufficiently sensitive for estimating PAHs baseline levels (typical median range from 1 to 1000 pg/ml) in groups of normal control subjects using 1-ml aliquots of human plasma but we note that some individuals have very low background concentrations for 5- and 6-ring compounds that fall below robust quantitation levels.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Pleil, JD; Stiegel, MA; Sobus, JR; Tabucchi, S; Ghio, AJ; Madden, MC
Published Date
- July 2010
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 878 / 21
Start / End Page
- 1753 - 1760
PubMed ID
- 20488767
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1873-376X
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1570-0232
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.jchromb.2010.04.035
Language
- eng