Simple analysis of arylamide herbicides in serum using headspace-solid phase microextraction and GC/MS

A simple and sensitive method for analysis of four arylamide herbicides (butachlor, propanil, diphenamide and propyzamide) in serum was developed using a headspace-solid phase microextraction (SPME) and a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). A vial containing a serum sample and sodium chloride was heated at 90 degrees C. The extraction fiber of the SPME was exposed for 45 min in the headspace of the vial. The compounds adsorbed on the fiber were desorbed by exposing the fiber in the injection port of the GC-MS. The calibration curves, using an internal standard method, demonstrated good Linearity throughout the concentration range from 0.25 to 10.0 mu g/ml. Propyzamide was used for an internal standard. The limit of detection was 0.10, 0.05, and 0.25 mu g/ml for butachlor, diphenamide, and propanil, respectively. No interferences were found, and the time for analysis was 60 min for one sample. In addition, this proposed method was applied to a suicide case in which the patient ingested Kusanon A(R), a herbicide. Propanil, which was the main ingredient in the herbicide, was detected in the eight serum samples collected from the patient during the hospitalization at the concentration range from 26.7 to 1.1 mu g/ml. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.