METHODICAL SUPPORT FOR CONTROL OVER THE CONCENTRATION OF PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANT HEXACHLOROBENZENE IN BLOOD

Abstract

Introduction. Persistent organic pollutants (POP) are extremely dangerous compounds contaminating the environment and exerting the negative impact on human health. Organochlorine pesticides, including hexachlorobenzene, are a specific group among POP. Our research goal is methodological support for the hexachlorobenzene content control in human biological environments. Material and methods. We developed highly both sensitive and selective procedure for determining hexachlorobenzene in blood. Hexachlorobenzene determination in blood is based on the application of capillary gas chromatography with linear programming of a column temperature, electron capture detector (ECD), and extraction with an organic solvent at a sample preparation stage. When implementing the developed methodology, the following indices were evaluated: accuracy and error characteristics of the analysis results. The lower limit of hexachlorobenzene quantification (LOQ) in blood amounted to 0.000024 µg/cm3, with the range of detectable concentrations from 0.00015 to 0.005 (determination method error ≥ 20%), which allows to adequately diagnose chemical burden with a highly toxic persistent organic pollutant in blood. Results. The results of quantitative chemical analysis of hexachlorobenzene contents in blood had the following quality indices: precision and correctness amounted to 15.621%; repeatability - 3.45%; reproducibility - 4.65%. In the process of testing the method, concentrations of hexachlorobenzene in the range of 0.0003 ± 0.0001 ÷ 0.0007 ± 0.0001 μg/cm3 were detected in the blood of the examined group. Discussion. The high efficiency of gas chromatography determination of hexachlorobenzene in blood was achieved via selection of optimal conditions for chromatographic analysis: capillary column HP-1- 35m∙0.32mm∙0.25µm with linear programming of column temperature, carrier gas (nitrogen), electron capture detector (ECD). The developed method of the preparing a blood sample for analysis, including liquid extraction with toluene, protein denaturation by centrifuging the biological medium at 7000 rpm for 15 min at pH of 6-7 in combination with gas chromatographic analysis and an electron capture detector (ECD) made it possible to complete extraction of hexachlorobenzene from blood in an amount of 99.7%.