METHOD FOR EXTRACTION, ISOLATION, AND DETECTION OF FREE POLYBROMINATED BIPHENYLS (PBBS) FROM PLASMA, FECES, MILK, AND BILE USING DISPOSABLE GLASSWARE

A rapid method was developed for the extraction, isolation, detection of polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) from plasma, feces, milk, bile, using disposable glassware. Use of disposable equipment greatly reduced the amount of laboratory background and cross-contamination of samples. The procedure employed a multiple extraction with a mixture of diethyl and petroleum ethers, followed by cleanup on miniature Florisil, silica gel, sodium sulfate columns. Detection was accomplished by gas chromatography. Recoveries were determined for the six major components of a commercial PBB mixture and were approximately 96% for plasma, 59% for feces, 98% for milk. The background levels for plasma, feces, milk were 0.0005, 0.0007, 0.0007 ppm, respectively, bringing the minimum detectable limits of the major hexabromobiphenyl peak to 0.0010, 0.0014, 0.0014 ppm on a whole tissue basis. © 1978, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.