Identification of urinary metabolites of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in rats by liquid chromatography-mass spectometry

Metabolites of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) were found in the urine of rats fed with TNT. The urine extracts were analysed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Metabolites found included TNT itself as well as 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene and 2,4-diamino-6-nitrotoluene, indicating that reduction processes are responsible for the formation of these metabolites.