P. Devoogt et L. Haggberg, ISOLATION AND DETERMINATION OF METHYLSULFONYL-PCBS IN BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES BY SULFURIC-ACID PARTITIONING, ADSORPTION CHROMATOGRAPHY AND GC-ECD, Chemosphere, 27(1-3), 1993, pp. 271-278
Methylsulfonyl (MeSO2) metabolites of polychlorobiphenyl (PCBs) have b
een shown to be present in humans, in tissues of animals fed with PCBs
and in relatively high levels in free living animals such as otter an
d seals. In addition, serious effects of these compounds have been rep
orted in mice. It is therefore necessary to develop analytical methods
for the determination of MeSO2-PCBs, which can be applied for monitor
ing purposes. In this contribution the incorporation of the determinat
ion of MeSO2-PCBs in an existing multiresidue method for the determina
tion of chlorinated and brominated pollutants is reported. Aromatic Me
SO2 compounds dissolve in sulphuric acid. In the multiresidue method,
sample extracts are initially cleaned up with sulphuric acid. The resu
lting acid layer, which is usually discarded, contains the MeSO2 compo
unds, which are isolated by additional liquid liquid extraction and ad
sorption chromatography using aluminiumoxide and silica. Recoveries of
this procedure for 6 MeSO2-PCBs and MeSO2-DDE are in the 75-100% rang
e. The method was applied to Grey seal and otter tissue and White-tail
ed eagle eggs. Results show intra- and interspecies differences in the
patterns of MeSO2 compounds. It is estimated that levels of MeSO2-PCB
s can amount to between 2 and 10 % of the total PCB levels present in
mammals.