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  • Headspace solid-phase microextraction for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in urine.

Headspace solid-phase microextraction for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in urine.

Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications (1999-03-18)
S Fustinoni, R Giampiccolo, S Pulvirenti, M Buratti, A Colombi
ABSTRACT

A method for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) in urine of people exposed to these airborne pollutants present in the living environment, has been described. Solid-phase microextraction has been used for sampling BTEX from the headspace of urine and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been applied for the selective analysis of chemicals. The method has the following features: small volume of urine (2 ml) needed, linearity in the range of interest (from the limit of detection up to 5000 ng/l) with coefficient of correlation > or =0.998, limit of detection in the range 12-34 ng/l, good repeatability (coefficient of variation 2-7%), high specificity. The stability of the urine sample during storage (-20 degrees C) was evaluated: BTEX remained stable for up to 2 months. The assay has been successfully applied to the biological monitoring of two subjects environmentally exposed to airborne BTEX in an urban area.