Summary
The industrial solvents, toluene and xylene, have physicochemical properties that can be hazardous to the workers exposed. Since hippuric acid and m-methyl-hippuric acid represent the products of toluene and xylene biotransformation in urine, they are used as biological markers in studies on occupational exposure to these solvents. Several methods have been used to determine hippuric acid and m-methyl-hippuric acid —either based on gas chromatography or on high-performance liquid chromatography. In this study we propose the derivatization of hippuric acid and methyl-hippuric acid using methanol in acid medium (HCl), a low-cost reagent with a low level of toxicity. The method has been routinely used in our laboratory for 1 year and has proven to be a reliable procedure for the biological control of occupational exposure to toluene and/or xylene.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astier A, Deutsch AM (1980) High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of hippuric acid in human urine. J Chromatogr 182:88–93
Buchet JP, Lauwerys RR (1973) Measurement of urinary hippuric and m-methyl-hippuric acids by gas chromatography. Br J Ind Med 30:125–128
Campbell L, Wilson HK, Samuel AM, Gompertz D (1988) Interactions of m-xylene and aspirin metabolism in man. Br J Ind Med 45:127–132
Caperos JR, Fernández JG (1977) Simultaneous determination of toluene and xylene metabolites in urine by gas chromatography. Br J Ind Med 34:229–233
Chong WK, Mills GA, Weavind GP, Walker V (1989) High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the rapid profiling of plasma and urinary organic acids. J Chromatogr 487:147–153
Eller PM (ed) (1984) NIOSH manual of analytical methods, 3rd edn. NIOSH, Cincinnati
Hasegawa K, Shiojima S, Koizumi A, Ikeda M (1983) Hippuric acid and o-cresol in the urine of workers exposed to toluene. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 52:197–208
Kira S (1977) Measurement by gas chromatography of urinary hippuric acid and methylhippuric acid as indices of toluene and xylene exposure. Br J Ind Med 34:305–309
Kubota K, Horai Y, Kushida K, Ishizaki T (1988) Determination of benzoic acid and hippuric acid in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr 425:67–75
Lacroix C, Inger F (1986) Determination simultaneé de l'acide hippurique et des acides o-m-p-méthylhippuriques urinaires par chromatographie liquide. J Chromatogr 382:275–279
Lundberg I, Sollenberg J (1986) Correlation of xylene exposure and methyl hippuric acid excretion in urine among paint industry workers. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:149–153
Matsui H, Kasao M, Imamura S (1977) Quantitative determination of hippuric and m-methylhippuric acids in urine by high-speed liquid chromatography. Br J Ind Med 34:310–313
Matsui H, Kasao M, Imamura S (1978) High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of hippuric acid in human urine. J Chromatogr 145:231–236
Ogata M, Taguchi T (1986) Quantitative analysis of urinary glycine conjugates by high performance liquid chromatography: excretion of hippuric acid and methylhippuric acids in the urine of subjects exposed to vapours of toluene and xylenes. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 58:121–129
Ogata M, Taguchi T (1987) Quantitation of urinary metabolites of toluene, xylene, styrene, ethylbenzene, benzene and phenol by automated high performance liquid chromatography. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 59:263–272
Van Roosmalen PB, Drummond I (1978) Simultaneous determination by gas chromatography of the major metabolites in urine of toluene, xylenes and styrene. Br J Ind Med 35:56–60
Veulemans H, Van Vlem E, Janssens H, Masschelein R (1979) Exposure to toluene and urinary hippuric acid excretion in a group of heliorotagravure printing workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 44:99–107
Vogel AI (1967) A textbook of practical organic chemistry, 4th edn. Longmans, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Carvalho, D., Lanchote, V.L., Bonato, P.S. et al. A new derivatization procedure for the analysis of hippuric acid and m-methyl-hippuric acid by gas chromatography. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 63, 33–37 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406195
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406195