Rapid determination of O- and P-cresol isomers in urine from workers exposed to toluene by high-performance liquid chromatography using a graphitized carbon column.

A simple and rapid procedure is described that permits the simultaneous determination of o- and p-cresol in urine of workers of other individuals exposed to toluene. The urine samples are enzymatically hydrolysed and analysed by high-performance liquid-chromatography with a detection limit of 0.2 mg/L, one fifth of the biological threshold limit value for o-cresol (1 mg/g), a specific marker of toluene exposure. A graphitized carbon column Hybercarb-S, that exhibits an excellent selectivity for aromatic positional isomers, was used with 1% phosphoric acid-acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) as mobile phase and a detection wavelength of 271 nm. The overall accuracy for o-cresol determination was 4.5% at 5 mg/L and 8% at 0.5 mg/L. The cresol isomers were sufficiently resolved from endogenous materials to avoid the need for any extraction step, and the method appears suitable for monitoring workers accurately under the permissible level of exposure for occupational medicine purpose.