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