Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Neonicotinoid pesticides have been widely applied for the production of fruits and vegetables, and occasionally detected in conventionally grown produce. Thus oral exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides may exist in the general population; however, neonicotinoid metabolites in human body fluids have n...

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Main Authors: Kumiko Taira, Kazutoshi Fujioka, Yoshiko Aoyama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3827204?pdf=render
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author Kumiko Taira
Kazutoshi Fujioka
Yoshiko Aoyama
author_facet Kumiko Taira
Kazutoshi Fujioka
Yoshiko Aoyama
author_sort Kumiko Taira
collection DOAJ
description Neonicotinoid pesticides have been widely applied for the production of fruits and vegetables, and occasionally detected in conventionally grown produce. Thus oral exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides may exist in the general population; however, neonicotinoid metabolites in human body fluids have not been investigated comprehensively. The purpose of this study is the qualitative profiling and quantitative analysis of neonicotinoid metabolites in the human spot urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Human urine samples were collected from three patients suspected of subacute exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides. A qualitative profiling of urinary metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOFMS) with a database of nominal molecular weights of 57 known metabolites of three neonicotinoid pesticides (acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, and clothianidin), as well as the parent compounds. Then a quantitative analysis of selected urinary metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with a standard pesticide and metabolite, which were detected by the qualitative profiling. The result of qualitative profiling showed that seven metabolites, i.e. an acetamiprid metabolite, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid; three Imidacloprid metabolites, 5-hydroxy-Imidacloprid, 4,5-dihydroxy-imidacloprid, 4,5-dehydro-Imidacloprid; a common metabolite of acetamiprid and Imidacloprid, N-(6-chloronicotinoyl)-glycine; and two clothianidin metabolites, N-desmethyl-clothianidin, N-(2-(methylsulfanyl)thiazole-5-carboxyl)-glycine, as well as acetamiprid, were detected in the urine of three cases. The result of the quantitative analysis showed N-desmethyl-acetamiprid was determined in the urine of one case, which had been collected on the first visit, at a concentration of 3.2 ng/mL. This is the first report on the qualitative and quantitative detection of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid in the human urine. The results suggest that the one case with detection of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid was exposed to acetamiprid through the consumption of contaminated foods. Urinary N-desmethyl-acetamiprid, as well as 5-hydroxy-Imidacloprid and N-desmethyl-clothianidin, may be a good biomarker for neonicotinoid exposure in humans and warrants further investigation.
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spelling doaj.art-5b39b0d46b6440539f6f24494748093b2022-12-21T18:43:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01811e8033210.1371/journal.pone.0080332Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.Kumiko TairaKazutoshi FujiokaYoshiko AoyamaNeonicotinoid pesticides have been widely applied for the production of fruits and vegetables, and occasionally detected in conventionally grown produce. Thus oral exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides may exist in the general population; however, neonicotinoid metabolites in human body fluids have not been investigated comprehensively. The purpose of this study is the qualitative profiling and quantitative analysis of neonicotinoid metabolites in the human spot urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Human urine samples were collected from three patients suspected of subacute exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides. A qualitative profiling of urinary metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOFMS) with a database of nominal molecular weights of 57 known metabolites of three neonicotinoid pesticides (acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, and clothianidin), as well as the parent compounds. Then a quantitative analysis of selected urinary metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with a standard pesticide and metabolite, which were detected by the qualitative profiling. The result of qualitative profiling showed that seven metabolites, i.e. an acetamiprid metabolite, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid; three Imidacloprid metabolites, 5-hydroxy-Imidacloprid, 4,5-dihydroxy-imidacloprid, 4,5-dehydro-Imidacloprid; a common metabolite of acetamiprid and Imidacloprid, N-(6-chloronicotinoyl)-glycine; and two clothianidin metabolites, N-desmethyl-clothianidin, N-(2-(methylsulfanyl)thiazole-5-carboxyl)-glycine, as well as acetamiprid, were detected in the urine of three cases. The result of the quantitative analysis showed N-desmethyl-acetamiprid was determined in the urine of one case, which had been collected on the first visit, at a concentration of 3.2 ng/mL. This is the first report on the qualitative and quantitative detection of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid in the human urine. The results suggest that the one case with detection of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid was exposed to acetamiprid through the consumption of contaminated foods. Urinary N-desmethyl-acetamiprid, as well as 5-hydroxy-Imidacloprid and N-desmethyl-clothianidin, may be a good biomarker for neonicotinoid exposure in humans and warrants further investigation.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3827204?pdf=render
spellingShingle Kumiko Taira
Kazutoshi Fujioka
Yoshiko Aoyama
Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
PLoS ONE
title Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
title_full Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
title_fullStr Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
title_full_unstemmed Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
title_short Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
title_sort qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3827204?pdf=render
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AT kazutoshifujioka qualitativeprofilingandquantificationofneonicotinoidmetabolitesinhumanurinebyliquidchromatographycoupledwithmassspectrometry
AT yoshikoaoyama qualitativeprofilingandquantificationofneonicotinoidmetabolitesinhumanurinebyliquidchromatographycoupledwithmassspectrometry