Evaluation of various mass spectrometry mode based on gas chromatography for quantifying the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in human urine

Shan Bao; Jiankun Qian; Tian Qiu; Weilong Jiang; Wen Gu; Yingli Qu; Xue Bai; Xiaohong Yu; Yuchen Jiang; Song Tang; Yuebin Lv; Xiaoming Shi; Yifu Lu

doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2024.465521

Evaluation of various mass spectrometry mode based on gas chromatography for quantifying the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in human urine

J Chromatogr A. 2024 Nov 14:1739:465521. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2024.465521. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shan Bao¹, Jiankun Qian², Tian Qiu¹, Weilong Jiang³, Wen Gu¹, Yingli Qu¹, Xue Bai¹, Xiaohong Yu³, Yuchen Jiang¹, Song Tang⁴, Yuebin Lv¹, Xiaoming Shi⁵, Yifu Lu⁶

Affiliations

¹ China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China.
² China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China.
³ China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
⁴ China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China.
⁵ China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
⁶ China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China. Electronic address: luyifu@nieh.chinacdc.cn.

PMID: 39566290
DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2024.465521

Abstract

Hydroxyl polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) are frequently used as biomarkers to assess human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are typically present in minute concentrations in the human body. Although several studies have outlined methods for measuring OH-PAHs in human urine, these approaches may have limitations concerning the range of compounds detected, the sample volume required for pre-treatment, accuracy, and instrument maintenance costs. Advances in mass spectrometry technology have facilitated the use of various mass spectrometry modes based on gas chromatography. It is essential to evaluate different mass spectrometry modes to identify a more reliable and practical method for quantifying OH-PAHs in urine. Our comparative analysis of three gas chromatography-mass spectrometry modes revealed that advanced electron ionization (AEI) mode exhibited greater sensitivity for determination compared to electron ionization (EI) mode in tandem mass spectrometry. The method validation criteria were satisfied by GC-AEI-MS/MS, which demonstrated acceptable measurement errors (MEs) ranging from -23.0 % to 19.5 %, recoveries between 81.6 % and 112.1 %, and precision levels below 10.1 %. Furthermore, the reliability and accuracy of the GC-AEI-MS/MS method were corroborated through Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) evaluation (values > 0.75), participation in external proficiency testing programs (G-EQUAS), and analysis of certified reference materials, which exhibited a relative deviation of <6.1 %. In summary, GC-AEI-MS/MS is a robust and reliable method for analyzing urine samples and conducting large-scale human biological monitoring. It was employed to determine 16 OH-PAHs in human urine as part of the China National Human Biomonitoring Program (CNHBM).

Keywords: Advanced electron ionization; Human urine; Hydroxyl polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Mass spectrometry mode.