Research on the detection method of eight benzene metabolites in urine based on UPLC-MS/MS

Abstract

During the metabolic process of benzene and its derivatives in living organisms, a series of metabolic products are produced. These metabolites have significant application value in environmental monitoring, occupational health and disease diagnosis. The detection of specific metabolites of benzene series substances can accurately reflect the true level of exposure. In this study, a method based on UPLC-MS/MS was developed for the determination of eight benzene biometabolites in urine. The target substances in urine samples were extracted using HLB columns, separated by gradient elution with HSS T3 liquid chromatography columns, and detected by tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed good linearity in the linear range with correlation coefficients greater than 0.999 for all eight substances. The recoveries were all in the range of 80–120%, and the detection limits were lower than 0.011 ng mL⁻¹. The method is simple to operate, the accuracy and precision meet the detection requirements, and it can be applied to the detection of real samples.