Separation and Quantitation of Urinary Phthalates by HPLC

A method was developed for the separation and quantitation of plasticizers and their metabolites from human urine using HPLC, Urine was diluted with an equal volume of water and extracted at pH 2.0 with diethyl ether, The extract was dried, the solvent vacuum stripped, and the residue dissolved in methanol for injection into the chromatograph. A C18 reverse phase column containing 10 μ particles was used for the analysis. Ionic suppression, 0.5% acetic acid in water, at pH 3.0 was used to resolve the acidic components. A step gradient of acetonitri1e:water (containing acetic acid) was used to elute the polar metabolites as well as the non-polar plasticizers. Mass spectrometry was used t o identify the compounds in the HPLC fractions. From the HPLC fractions of the urine extract collected, phthalic acid, MEHP, DEHP and normal urinary constituents (e.g., hippuric and benzoic acid derivatives) were identified