Determination of urinary metabolites of alkyl cellosolves by solid phase extraction and GC/FID

Alkyl cellosolves include ethylene glycol monomethylether, ethylene glycol monoethylether, ethylene glycol monobuthylether. And their urine metabolites are methoxyacetic acid, ethoxyacetic acid and butoxyacetic acid. The current analytical method for urinary alkoxyacetic acid is liquid-liquid phase extraction. But the liquid-liquid phase extraction method needs a more complex pre-treatment process and has a low recovery rate. We determined the appropriate extraction solvent and its flow rate. We also evaluated the non-absorptive rate and recovery rate according to particle size. Finally we developed a convenient solid phase extraction method for the analysis of urine cellosolve metabolites. As a result, the recovery rates for methoxyacetic acid, ethoxyacetic acid and butoxyacetic acid were 100.4 +/- 1.6%, 100.2 +/- 1.8% and 100.7 +/- 10.0% respectively, when acetone was used as the extraction solution. The most appropriate flow rate was 0.1 ml/min. At a particle size of 140-200 mesh, non-absorption percentages for methoxyacetic acid, ethoxyacetic acid, butoxyacetic acid were 3.2 +/- 0.3%, 1.0 +/- 0.1% and 1.1 +/- 0.1%, and the recovery rates according to particle size were similar. Further evaluation of the recovery rate and non-absorptive rate according to the mini column shape, stationary phase and recovery rate with various extracting solutions is required.