Trace analysis of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, its glycineamide, and their alkaline hydrolyzable conjugates in mouse blood, urine, and feces.

Chemical methods were developed for the trace analysis of the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, its glycineamide, and their alkaline hydrolyzable conjugates in mouse blood, urine, and feces. The salient elements of the methods are extraction of the free acids with benzene, methylation, cleanup on a silica gel column, and quantification via electron-capture GLC. Any unextracted conjugates remaining in the substrates are then subjected to alklaline hydrolysis, and the liberated 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid is assayed. Data are presented concerning recoveries of the compounds from the three spiked substrates. The utility of the procedures is illustrated by a preliminary pharmacolinetic study employing parallel electron-capture GLC and radioassays of the three substrates from mice injected with a single intravenous dose of 14C-2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid. GLC characteristics and partition values of the the compounds and hydrolysis of the glycineamide under various conditions also are discussed.