Biomonitoring of benzene and toluene in human blood by headspace-solid-phase microextraction

A simple and rapid method for the determination of benzene and toluene in whole blood by headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) is described. Using SPME fibres coated with 65 mu m carboxene/polydimethylsiloxane, limits of quantification (LOQ) of 5 ng/L for benzene and 25 ng/L for toluene are achieved. As a result of its large linear range (i.e. 5-5000 ng/L for benzene) the method is suitable for biomonitoring of both occupationally and environmentally exposed people. The reproducibility of the determination of benzene is less than or equal to 8%. An interlaboratory comparison demonstrated that the method proposed here compares favorably with existing methods (dynamic headspace, purge and trap).