Human Biomonitoring of Serum Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers by Supported Liquid Extraction and Gas Chromatography Coupled With Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

This study aims to develop and validate a robust analytical method for the quantification of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in human serum using gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. We compared procedural blanks, recoveries, and operational convenience of liquid–liquid extraction and supported liquid extraction for the determination of serum PBDEs. We evaluated different extraction solvents for their effect on PBDE recoveries. Supported liquid extraction was selected for method validation due to its operational convenience. The method demonstrated satisfactory linearity, sensitivity, and reproducibility, with the range of 0.10–5.00 µg/L for most PBDE congeners and 0.20–10.0 µg/L for PBDE-154 and PBDE-183, with limits of detection ranging from 2 to 48 ng/L, and with matrix effects ranging from 94% to 113%. Quality control assessments indicated that recoveries ranged from 85% to 110% and relative standard deviations of less than 11%. The proposed method was applied to biomonitoring of 111 healthy adults, revealing detectable levels of PBDEs in over 90% of the samples. BDE-47 and BDE-183 were the most prevalent, with mean concentrations of 4.13 and 22.1 ng/L, respectively. Detection frequencies ranged from 0.90% for BDE-17 and BDE-85 to 25.2% for BDE-47. Males had higher mean concentrations of BDE-183 than females.