Analyst (Cambridge UK) 1991-12-01

Determination of 4-methyl-cis-hexahydrophthalic anhydride in human blood by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection.

P Pfäffli, H Savolainen

Index: Analyst 116(12) , 1333-6, (1991)

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Abstract

A gas-chromatographic technique using 63Ni electron-capture detection was applied to the determination of 4-methyl-cis-hexahydrophthalic anhydride in the blood of workers occupationally exposed to this airborne agent. The detection limit was 0.24 nmol ml-1. For occupational exposure to between 0.14 and 0.31 mg m-3 of the anhydride, the anhydride concentration in the workers' blood samples ranged from 3.4 to 10.7 nmol ml-1. The results are consistent with earlier findings in animal exposure experiments and support the view that the hydrolysis of the anhydride in a biological medium is not spontaneous, but might be an enzyme-catalysed reaction. The resulting dicarboxylic acid is excreted by the kidneys without further conjugation reactions.