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Sensitive multiresidue method by HS-SPME/GC-MS for 10 volatile organic compounds in urine matrix: a new tool for biomonitoring studies on children

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Abstract

A HS-SPME method coupled with GC-MS analysis has been developed for simultaneously measuring the concentration of 10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-, m-, and p-xylene, methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether, 2-methyl-2-butyl methyl ether, and diisopropyl ether) in urine matrix as a biomonitoring tool for populations at low levels of exposure to such VOCs. These compounds, potentially toxic for human health, are common contaminants of both outdoor and indoor air, as they are released by autovehicular traffic; some of them are also present in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Thus, the exposure to these pollutants cannot be neglected and should be assessed. The low limits of detection and quantification (LODs and LOQs <6.5 and 7.5 ng L–1, respectively) and the high reproducibility (CVs <4 %) make the developed method suited for biomonitoring populations exposed at low levels such as children. Further, the method is cost-effective and low in time-consumption; therefore, it is useful for investigating large populations. It has been applied to children exposed to traffic pollution and/or ETS; the relevant results are reported, and the relevant implications are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Sapienza University of Rome for financial support of the study. Grant 2014 prot. N. C26A14AZYY.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Via S. Maria in Gradi, 4, 01100, Viterbo, Italy

    Arianna Antonucci

  2. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Arianna Antonucci, Matteo Vitali & Carmela Protano

  3. Department of Technological Innovations, INAIL, Via IV Novembre 144, 00187, Rome, Italy

    Pasquale Avino & Maurizio Manigrasso

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  1. Arianna Antonucci
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  2. Matteo Vitali
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Correspondence to Matteo Vitali.

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The authors certify that they have no affiliations or involvement with any organization or entity with any financial or nonfinancial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Research involving Human Participants

The protocol of the study involving human participants was approved by local Ethical Committee (Policlinico Umberto I/Sapienza University of Rome; protocol code 2894).

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Since participants were children aged 5- to 11 y old, informed consent was signed by both parents of each participant and by older children (9- to 11-y old).

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Antonucci, A., Vitali, M., Avino, P. et al. Sensitive multiresidue method by HS-SPME/GC-MS for 10 volatile organic compounds in urine matrix: a new tool for biomonitoring studies on children. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 5789–5800 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9682-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9682-x

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