LC/MS/MS method for the analysis of acrylamide and glycidamide hemoglobin adducts

Hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide and its primary metabolite, glycidamide are used as biomarkers of acrylamide exposure. Several methods for analyzing these biomarkers in blood have been described previously. These methods were developed to analyze small numbers of samples, not the high sample throughput that is needed in population screening. Obtaining data on exposure of the US population to acrylamide through food and other sources is important to initiate appropriate public health activities. As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biomonitoring activities, we developed a high throughput liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide. The LC/MS/MS method consists of using the Edman reaction and isolating the reaction products by protein precipitation and solid-phase extraction (SPE). Quantitation is achieved by using stable-isotope labeled peptides as internal standards. The method is performed on an automated liquid handling and SPE system. It provides good sensitivity in the low-exposure range as assessed in pooled samples and enables differentiation between smokers and non smokers.