Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in human serum by gas chromatography with micro-electron capture detector.

A method for determination of concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCB-28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 156, and 187) and organochlorine pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, delta-hexachlorocyclohexane, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene, o,p'-dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane, alpha-chlordane, gamma-chlordane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, and aldrin) in human serum is developed. Recovery is assessed with artificial serum, in which PCBs and OCPs could not be detected. The method is then confirmed with pooled human serum. Experiments are performed by adding two concentrations of analytes (0.5 µg/L and 1.0 µg/L) to both matrices. The sample pretreatment process involves denaturing with a mixture of water-1-propanol (v:v, 85:15), extraction with a C-18 cartridge, and cleanup with an Alumina B cartridge. This process required about 2 mL of serum. The limit of detection ranged from 0.05-0.35 µg/L for all the analytes. Recovery of analytes at low and high spiking concentrations varied from 63-122% and 61-124% for artificial serum and pooled human serum, respectively. Relative standard deviation was lower than 16% and 18% for artificial serum and pooled human serum, respectively. Stability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation, was lower than 14%. The method has been applied in epidemiological research.