A simple test to monitor aromatic amine clearance in occupational workers

A simple, quick and sensitive procedure is described to monitor urinary clearance of aromatic amines in industrial workers. Estimation is based on the measurement of coloured Schiff's bases developed with 4-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde-organic acid reagent. Extraction of amines in water saturated butanol ensured 89-97% recovery from biological samples with a coefficient of variation of less than 8%. Regression analyses of the absorbance-concentration curves with different aromatic amines showed excellent correlation coefficient and a high molar absorptivity with the lowest detection limits ranging between 0.05-0.12 microgram ml-1. The proposed reagent has additional use as a spray reagent to detect amine spots on chromatograms. Low final acidity ensures estimates of free amines without causing hydrolysis of conjugated amines.