Assessing human exposure to pesticides and mycotoxins: optimization and validation of a method for multianalyte determination in urine samples
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Marín Sáez, Jesús; Hernández Mesa, Maykel; Gallardo Ramos, Jose A.; Gámiz Gracia, Laura; García Campaña, Ana MaríaEditorial
Springer Nature
Materia
Urine Biomonitoring Pesticides
Date
2024-02-07Referencia bibliográfica
Marín-Sáez, J., Hernández-Mesa, M., Gallardo-Ramos, J.A. et al. Assessing human exposure to pesticides and mycotoxins: optimization and validation of a method for multianalyte determination in urine samples. Anal Bioanal Chem 416, 1935–1949 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05191-2
Sponsorship
Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Almería/ CBUA.; Andalusian Government (Project ref. PROYEXCEL_00195) and PID2021-127804OB-I00 funded by Spanish MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; University of Almería for “Convocatoria de Recualificación do Sistema Universitario Español-Margarita Salas” postdoc grant under the “Plan de Recuperación Transformación” programme funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities with European Union’s NextGenerationEU funds; Grant IJC2019-040989-I funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033Abstract
Humans are exposed to an increasing number of contaminants, with diet being one of the most important exposure routes. In
this framework, human biomonitoring is considered the gold standard for evaluating human exposure to chemicals. Pesticides
and mycotoxins are chemicals of special concern due to their health implications. They constitute the predominant border
rejection notifications for food and feed in Europe and the USA. However, current biomonitoring studies are focused on a
limited number of compounds and do not evaluate mycotoxins and pesticides together. In this study, an analytical method
has been developed for the determination of 30 pesticides and 23 mycotoxins of concern in urine samples. A salting-out
liquid–liquid extraction (SALLE) procedure was optimized achieving recoveries between 70 and 120% for almost all the
compounds and limits as lower as when QuEChERS was applied. The compounds were then determined by liquid chromatography
coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Different chromatographic conditions and analytical columns
were tested, selecting a Hypersild gold aQ column as the best option. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of 45
urine samples, in which organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides (detection rates (DR) of 82% and 42%, respectively)
and ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol (DR of 51% and 33%, respectively) were the most detected compounds. The proposed
analytical method involves the simultaneous determination of a diverse set of pesticides and mycotoxins, including their
most relevant metabolites, in human urine. It serves as an essential tool for biomonitoring the presence of highly prevalent
contaminants in modern society.