2-Hydroxyethylation of haemoglobin in man.

Exposure of humans to 2-hydroxyethylating agents, such as ethylene oxide, results in the formation of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)valine (HOEtVal) at the N-terminal amino acid of haemoglobin. A novel method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been used to monitor the presence of this adduct in smokers and control subjects, and dose-response relationships were investigated between HOEtVal in haemoglobin, number of cigarettes smoked per day and plasma cotinine levels.