Analytical Performance of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and Liquid Scintillation Counting for Detection of ↑(14)C-Labeled Atrazine Metabolites in Human Urine

摘要

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has been applied to the detection of 14C-labeled urinary metabolites of the triazine herbicide, atrazine, and the analytical performace of AMS has been directly compared to that of liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Ten human subjects were given a dermal dose of ↑14C-labeled atrazine over 24 h, and mine from the subjects was collected over a 7-day period. Concentrations of ↑(14)C in the samples have been determined by AMS and LSC and range from 1.8 fmol/mL to 4.3 pmol/mL. Data from these two methods have a correlation coefficient of 0.998 for a linear plot of the entire ,ample set. Accelerator mass spectrometry provides superior concentration (2.2 vs 27 fmol/mL) and mass (5.5 vs 54 000 amol) detection limits relative to those of LSC for these samples. The precision of the data provided b/AMS for !ow-level samples is 1.7%, and the day-to-day reproducibility of the AMS measurements is 3.9%. Factors limiting AMS detection limits for these samples and in which these can be improved are examined.