New arsenosugar metabolite determined in urine by parallel use of HPLC-ICP-MS and HPLC-ESI-MS

Abstract

Here we report a new arsenic metabolite found in sheep’s urine after arsenosugar ingestion identified by the parallel use of HPLC-ICP-MS and HPLC-ESI-MS. The two methods together provide an excellent tool for identification of novel arsenic compounds in body fluids and extracts. Besides the previously reported major arsenic metabolite dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)) and the minor dimethylarsinoylethanol (DMAE), here we identify the second most abundant metabolite as dimethylarsinoylacetate (DMAA). The pH dependent retention behaviour of all three arsenic compounds was studied on an anion-exchange column in the pH range 3–8.5. This is the first time DMAA has been reported as a metabolite in urine after arsenosugar ingestion.