Background: Determination of arsenic species in human saliva is potentially useful for biomonitoring of human exposure and studying arsenic metabolism. Arsenic speciation in saliva has not been reported previously.
Methods: We separated arsenic species in saliva using liquid chromatography (LC) and quantified them by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We further confirmed the identities of arsenic species by LC coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. These methods were successfully applied to the determination of arsenite (AsIII), arsenate (AsV), and their methylation metabolites, monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAV), in >300 saliva samples collected from people who were exposed to varying concentrations of arsenic.
Results: The mean (range) concentrations (µg/L) in the saliva samples from 32 volunteers exposed to background levels of arsenic were AsIII 0.3 [not detectable (ND) to 0.7], AsV 0.3 (ND to 0.5), MMAV 0.1 (ND to 0.2), and DMAV 0.7 (ND to 2.6). Samples from 301 people exposed to increased concentrations of arsenic in drinking water showed detectable AsIII in 99%, AsV in 98%, MMAV in 80%, and DMAV in 68% of samples. The mean (range) concentrations of arsenic species in these saliva samples were (in µg/L) AsIII 2.8 (0.1–38), AsV 8.1 (0.3–120), MMAV 0.8 (0.1–6.0), and DMAV 0.4 (0.1–3.9). Saliva arsenic correlated with drinking water arsenic. Odds ratios for skin lesions increased with saliva arsenic concentrations. The association between saliva arsenic concentrations and the prevalence of skin lesions was statistically significant (P <0.001).
Conclusions: Speciation of AsV, AsIII, MMAV, and DMAV in human saliva is a useful method for monitoring arsenic exposure.
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