A rapid method for the selective analysis of total urinary metabolites of inorganic arsenic.

Abstract

7 (1981) 3'8-44. Total urinary arsenic has traditionally been used for assessing occupational exposure to inorganic arsenic. However, dietary arsenic, especially from seafood, may greatly influence this value. This paper describes a fast and convenient method for routinely measuring the combined amount of inorganic arsenic, methylarsonic acid, and dimethylarsinic acid, which are the major urinary meta!bolites after exposure to inorganic arsenic. Organic arsenic compounds of marine origin are not biotransformed to inorganic arsenic or methylated arsenic acids to any significance in the human body. They do not produce arsines when treated with the reducing agent in the proposed method and will therefore not interfere with the measurements. The sensitivity, accuracy, and precision of the proposed method are sufficient for the determination of concentrations of arsenic normally found in the urine of nonexposed persons. The method is based on a commercially available hydride generation kit attached to an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

Environmental Arsenic Exposure of Children around a Former Copper Smelter Site

“…The second method was used for the determination of combined As 3+ , As 5+ , monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), which are the major arsenic species and/or metabolites found in urine after exposure to inorganic arsenic, and referred as speciated urinary arsenic. The analytical method for the speciated urinary arsenic was based on the direct analysis of the urine sample on the HG-FAAS with a detection limit of 0.5 g/liter (Norin and Vahter, 1981).…”

Homicidal arsenic poisoning

“…Arsenobetaine is rapidly excreted unchanged in the urine, 26 and while arsenocholine and arsenosugars are metabolised, toxic inorganic arsenic species are not among the metabolites. 13 The results from the urine speciation undertaken in this case show arsenobetaine in relatively low concentrations so excluding seafood as the source of arsenic.…”

“…11 A concentration of 2777 mmol/L was found in one nonfatal case in which the sample was collected the day after poisoning 12 and in a failed suicide attempt the urine concentration was found to be 734 mmol/L only 3-4 h after exposure. 13 Even with relatively low arsenic exposure, urine concentrations may be high in urine that has been collected soon after ingestion; for example, six healthy volunteers had urine arsenic concentrations of up to 37 mmol/L 10 h after a relatively small bolus dose of 6 mg arsenic trioxide. 14 The main factors affecting arsenic concentrations in blood and urine are the time from poisoning to sample collection and the amount of arsenic consumed.…”

Arsenic

“…The liquid nitrogen was then removed and the tube warmed up for sequential evaporation, separation and detection of the arsines. At pH > 6, only the more toxic trivalent As species could be transformed into their arsines without interference from the pentavalent species (Andreae 1977, Norin andVahter 1981). Avoiding the liquid nitrogen trap, the separation was also performed by ion-exchange chromatography (Tam et al 1978).…”