Monitoring Sulfur Mustard Exposure by the GC-MS Analysis of Thiodiglycol Cleaved from Blood Proteins

摘要

A GC-MS assay of thiodiglycol (TDG) released from blood protein adducts of sulfur mustard (SM) was developed. Exposure of pig blood to SM (24 nM to 400 nM) resulted in a SM concentration-dependent increase in plasma TDG levels from 2.0 pg/mg protein to 38 pg/mg protein. TDG levels in blood samples drawn from monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) after a 1.0 mg/kg intravenous SM injection decreased from 220 pg/mg to 10 pg/mg protein during 45 days. TDG levels in plasma samples from pigs after a 2.4 mL (0.4 ml/site, 6 sites) neat SM percutaneous exposure decreased from 60 pg/mg protein to 4 pg/mg protein during 21 days. This assay was precise, reproducible, and relatively simple with the potential to become a routine test for SM exposure.