Visual detection of soman metabolites in zebrafish

Abstract

Soman, an organophosphate compound, is readily converted into pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in the environment. The toxicity of pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in biological systems warrants significant concern. Current quantitative detection methods for pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid generally require complex sample pretreatment procedures. This study aims to develop a rapid and convenient method for detecting pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in zebrafish without pretreatment. We established a visual detection protocol using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging for semi-quantitative analysis of pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in zebrafish. Calibration curves demonstrated good linearity (R² = 0.97) within the 10.0–50.0 ng g⁻¹ concentration range, with relative standard deviations below 20%. The validated method successfully quantified pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in biological tissues following 10-day exposure to 0.125 μg L⁻¹ soman. This pretreatment-free approach enables rapid visual detection of pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid in biological matrices, providing a valuable tool for monitoring and assessing potential health risks associated with environmental soman exposure.