Simultaneous determination of four mercapturic acids in human urine using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method was developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of four mercapturic acids (MAs), N-acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-L-cysteine (DHBMA), N-acetyl-S-(3-hydroxypropyl)-L-cysteine (3-HPMA), N-acetyl-S-(2-carboxyethyl)-L-cysteine ( CEMA) and S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), in human urine using solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Frozen urine samples were thawed at room temperature, and centrifuged to remove any settled precipitate. The supernatant was then purified and concentrated by a C18 solid phase extraction column, and analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode for the quantitative analysis. The ranges of recovery for DHBMA, 3-HPMA, CEMA and SPMA spiked in human urine matrix at three concentration levels were 105.6%-124.4%, 102.7%-106.5%, 103.2%-103.9% and 101.7%-104.3%, respectively, with the relative standard deviations of 2.6%-7.7%. The limits of detection (LOD, S/N > or = 3) were 0. 062, 0. 031, 0. 020 and 0. 003 microg/L for DHBMA, 3-HPMA, CEMA and SPMA, respectively. The method was successfully used to detect 4 MAs in 37 human urine samples from smokers and non-smokers. It was found that the contents of 3-HPMA, CEMA and SPMA in the urines from cigarette smokers were about three to six-fold more than those in the urines from the non-smokers.