Human exposure to mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may result in the formation of different profiles of hydroxylated PCBs (HO-PCBs), as a consequence of different exposures or dissimilar metabolism of parent compounds. Therefore, we investigated the levels and profiles of PCBs and HO-PCBs in human serum samples collected from two European countries with different degrees of pollution. There was no significant difference between the levels of sum PCBs measured in each set of samples, with a median concentration of 3100 pg/mL for Romanian samples (n = 53) and 3380 pg/mL for Belgian samples (n = 22). However, the median concentrations recorded for sum HO-PCBs were almost double in Belgian (310 pg/mL) compared to Romanian (175 pg/mL) samples. The detection frequency recorded for HO-PCBs in Belgian samples was also significantly higher compared to Romanian samples. The main contributors to the sum HO-PCBs in the Belgian samples were 4HO-CB107 > 4HO-CB146 > 4HO-CB187 (76% from the sum HO-PCBs) and 4HO-CB187 > 4HO-CB146 > 3'HO-CB138 (66% from the sum of HO-PCBs) in the Romanian samples. The HO-PCB profile showed that the higher chlorinated HO-PCBs had a higher contribution in the Romanian samples compared to the Belgian ones. This suggests that differences in the PCB profiles between populations can lead to the formation of different HO-PCB metabolite profiles presenting thus different risks for populations. No clear preferential mechanism of HO-PCB metabolite formation (HO-direct insertion vs. 1,2-shift of a chlorine atom) could be highlighted for investigated samples. The main chlorinated phenolic compound found in the Belgian samples was pentachlorophenol (PCP) which accounted for up to 85% of the total quantified phenolics, whereas in the Romanian samples, PCP accounted for only 35%.

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Active pharmaceutical ingredients such as isoniazid, pyrazinamide and rifampicin are among the most important first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. A simple, rapid and sensitive reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographic assay method for the simultaneous determination of isoniazid, pyrazinamide and rifampicin has been developed. Separation of the interest compounds was achieved in a 10 min chromatographic run in gradient elution mode on a Zorbax SB-C18 stainless steel column (150 � 4 mm, 5 mm) using a guard column containing the same stationary phase. The gradient elution was carried out with a mobile phase of 10% CH3CN aqueous solution for channel A and 50% CH3CN in pH = 6.8 phosphate buffer (20 mM), to which 1.5 mL triethylamine were added for channel B. Quantification of the analyzed substances was carried out spectrophotometrically at 269 nm. Detection limits of 0.48 mg/L for isoniazid, 0.52 mg/L for pyrazinamide and 0.48 mg/L for rifampicin were established for the developed assay method. The present work showed that the proposed analysis method was advantageous for simple and rapid analysis of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in pharmaceuticals and biological fluids.