Pierpaolo Boccalon

Gas chromatographic determination of glutaraldehyde in the workplace atmosphere after derivatization with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine on a solid-phase microextraction fibre

Glutaraldehyde is used primarily in hospital environments for the disinfection of various instruments (e.g., endoscopes). We describe in this paper the measurement of glutaraldehyde in a hospital environment using solid-phase microextraction. The method includes, prior to sampling, the adsorption of O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine on to the fibre (with polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene). The fibre is then exposed to air, after which desorption is performed in the GC injection port. This process results in the formation of a stable derivative of the glutaraldehyde that is suitable for chromatographic purposes and detectable with classical detection methods, such as flame ionisation and electron-capture detection. We demonstrate that the procedure of adsorption, thermal desorption and derivatization is robust and reproducible. We were able to detect concentrations of 60 microg/m3 (10 s sampling) or 6 microg/m3 (120 s sampling) by electron-capture detection, and 80 microg/m3 (120 s sampling) by flame ionisation detection. We compared our method to currently existing methods of glutaraldehyde measurement and highlighted several important advantages of the method.

Determination of organic acids in urine by solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography–ion trap tandem mass spectrometry previous ‘in sample’ derivatization with trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate

A method for the determination of the organic acids directly in the urine employing derivatization with trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate as a methylating agent and sequential extraction by head space and direct immersion/solid phase microextraction is reported. Furoic acid, hippuric acid, methylhippuric acid, mandelic acid, phenylglyoxylic acid and trans, trans muconic acid contained in urine and proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists as biological exposure indices were determined after a fast and economically convenient preparation step and sensitive gas chromatography-ion trap-mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Urine is rather a complex sample and hence the acquisition method required specific GC-MS instrumentation capable of supporting the changeover, fully automated during a single chromatographic separation, from mass to tandem mass spectrometry and both chemical and electron ionization modes. The automation of the analytical method provides a number of advantages, including reduced analysis time for both routine analysis and method development, and greater reproducibility. The equilibrium and kinetics of this substances vs head space/direct immersion-solid phase microextraction were investigated and evaluated theoretically.

Physicochemical Characterization of Exhaust Particulates from Gasoline and Diesel Engines by Solid-Phase Micro Extraction Sampling and Combined Raman Microspectroscopic/Fast Gas-Chromotography Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Ambient Particulate Matter (PM) has been shown to be associated with cardiopulmonary diseases and lung cancer. Several groups of investigators have shown that the size of the airborne particles and their surface area determine the potential to elicit inflammatory injury and other mechanisms of adverse cellular effects. Because traffic is an important source of PM, it seems obvious that physicochemical characterization of vehicles exhaust emission has an important impact on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of ambient PM. In the present study the exhaust emissions of 8 vehicles of different categories were analyzed to attempt to differentiate them. For such purpose the particulate was collected on SPME fibers exposed to the exhaust emission for 150 s. The particulate was first characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy and then subjected to Fast Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analyses for the chemical identification of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds, the organic fraction of particulate matter in air pollution with a major role in the toxicity, notably via its effects on inflammation. Both the particle count and the PAHs compositional data were assembled to be interpreted by Principal Components Analysis. This multivariate analysis grouped the data according mainly to the naphthalene amount, as well as the volume concentration of the particles smaller than 0.5 μm, suggesting that the different exhaust emissions could be easily differentiated. With this new methodology, future research should aim at establishing a mechanism of formation during internal engine combustion processes in order to obtain a clearer picture of the inflammatory and carcinogenic mechanisms of PM in the lungs.

A new approach to assessing occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs in hospital environments

Abstract Cytotoxic antineoplastic drugs (ADs) pose occupational risk and therefore require safe handling practices. We created, optimised, and validated an innovative monitoring protocol for simultaneously assessing 21 ADs in the healthcare environment, and also proposed surface exposure levels (SELs) to facilitate the interpretation of monitoring results, as there are currently no occupational exposure limits for ADs. The environmental AD monitoring data were collected in nine Italian hospitals between 2008 and 2017 and include 74,565 measurements in 4,814 wipe samples. Excellent overall recovery and sensitivity of the analytical methods along with innovative desorption automation make this protocol useful for routine monitoring. AD contamination was found in 3,081 measurements, confirming potential exposure in healthcare workers. Samples taken at the beginning and the end of work shifts, allowed to calculate 75th and 90th percentile values for each ADs both in preparation and administration units and we created a traffic-light colour-coding system to facilitate interpretation of the findings. The introduction of SELs will provide a solid basis for improving occupational safety and focusing on contamination control.