Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method development based on ultravioletvisible detector for the analysis of 1-hydroxypyrene (PAH biomarker) in human urine

Objectives 1-hydroxypyrene is an important biomarker of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which appears in the urine of exposed human subjects. In developing countries, where advanced instruments are not available, the importance of this biomarker demands convenient and sensitive methods for determination purposes. This study aimed at developing a methodology to quantify 1-hydroxypyrene (a biomarker of PAHs exposure) based on the UV-visible detector in the reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Material and Methods A 20 μl injection of sample was used for manual injection into the HPLC Shimadzu, equipped with the SPD-20 A UV-visible detector, the LC-20AT pump and the DGU-20A5 degasser. The C-18 column was used for the purpose of the analysis. Results The method showed a good linearity (the range: R² = 0.979–0.989), and high detectability up to the nmol level. The average retention was 6.37, with the accuracy of 2%, and the percentage of recovery remained 108%. The overall performance of this method was comparable (in terms of detection sensitivity) and relatively better than previously reported studies using the HPLC system equipped with the UV-detector. Conclusions This method is suitable and reliable for the detection/quantification of the 1-OHP in human urine samples, using the UV-detector, however, it is less sensitive as compared to the results of a florescence detector.