Rapid extraction and capillary gas chromatography for diazine herbicides in human body fluids

A simple and rapid method for the extraction of four diazine herbicides (terbacil, bromacil, norflurazon and PAC) from human whole blood, plasma and urine with use of Bond Elut C18 cartridges is presented. Whole blood, plasma and urine samples containing the herbicides, after mixing with distilled water, were loaded on Bond Elut C18 cartridges and the herbicides were eluted with chloroform/methanol (9:1). They were detected by capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (FID) with splitless injection. Separation of the four diazine herbicides from each other and from impurities was generally satisfactory with the use of an intermediately polar DB-17 capillary column. The recovery of all compounds, which had been added to whole blood, plasma and urine, was > 89%. The calibration curve for the herbicides, which has been added to whole blood, plasma and urine, showed linearity in the range 1.6-100 ng on column. Their detection limits were 1.2-1.4 ng on column for whole blood and plasma, and 1.1-1.2 ng on column for urine.