Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Water and Health Laboratory, Cyprus University of Technology, Irenes 95, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2019 Aug;411(20):5013-5021. doi: 10.1007/s00216-019-01925-9. Epub 2019 Jun 20.
Neonicotinoids (NEOs) and synthetic pyrethroids (PYRs) are active ingredients of commercial pesticides and/or insecticides with extensive indoor and outdoor applications, worldwide. Improved exposure metrics are warranted for NEOs and PYRs, if we are to better understand their human health effects. A cohort-friendly protocol for determining non-specific biomarkers of exposure to NEOs and PYRs, e.g. 6-chloronicotinic acid (6-CN) and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), respectively, in human urine voids was proposed. A series of optimization experiments were conducted to validate the bioanalytical protocol using gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS) in MRM mode. The method reached low detection limits for both analytes (0.075 μg L for 6-CN and 0.050 μg L for 3-PBA) in a short preparation and analysis time. The method used small initial urine sample volume (2 mL), short extraction time (≈ 240 min for the batches of 32 samples) and instrumental analysis time (≈ 14 min) for both pesticide metabolites in a single run. This protocol could facilitate the assessment of population exposure metrics for these pesticides and their inclusion in health risk assessment. Graphical abstract.
新烟碱类（NEOs）和合成拟除虫菊酯（PYRs）是商业杀虫剂和/或农药的有效成分，在全球范围内有广泛的室内和室外应用。如果我们要更好地了解它们对人类健康的影响，就需要改进 NEOs 和 PYRs 的暴露度量。本研究提出了一种适合队列研究的方案，用于确定非特异性生物标志物，以分别检测尿液中 NEOs 和 PYRs 的暴露情况，如 6-氯烟碱酸（6-CN）和 3-苯氧基苯甲酸（3-PBA）。通过气相色谱-三重四极杆质谱联用（GC-QqQ-MS/MS）在 MRM 模式下进行了一系列优化实验，验证了生物分析方案。该方法对两种分析物（6-CN 的检测限为 0.075μg/L，3-PBA 的检测限为 0.050μg/L）具有较低的检测限，且在较短的准备和分析时间内完成。该方法使用小体积的初始尿液样本（2mL），较短的提取时间（32 个样本批次的提取时间约为 240 分钟）和仪器分析时间（单个运行中两种农药代谢物的分析时间约为 14 分钟）。该方案有助于评估人群对这些农药的暴露水平，并将其纳入健康风险评估。
