# First Application of QuEChERS-GC-MS Analysis for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Detection in Human Adipose Tissue

## TL;DR

This study develops a new method to detect harmful PAHs in human fat tissue using QuEChERS-GC-MS, which is important for understanding human exposure to pollutants.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel QuEChERS-GC-MS method for quantifying PAHs in human adipose tissue, a rarely studied matrix.

## Key findings

- Fourteen PAHs were validated with detection and quantification limits ranging from 0.11 to 13.76 ng g–1.
- Phenanthrene, anthracene, and pyrene were detected in human samples, with pyrene quantified between 2.34 and 4.88 ng g–1.

## Abstract

Biomonitoring plays a crucial role in assessing human
exposure
to hazardous substances by determining the presence and concentration
of pollutants in the body. This study is part of the PRIN 2022 PNRR
project “Integrated systemic detection of pollutants in the
human body” (INSYDE-HU), which focuses on developing analytical
methods to quantify selected pollutants in human tissues from nonoccupationally
exposed individuals. The aim of this research is to develop and validate
a reliable analytical methodology for the quantitative determination
of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human adipose
tissue, a complex and rarely studied matrix in biomonitoring due to
the invasiveness of sampling. PAHs are lipophilic, toxic compounds
widely present in the environment and are prone to bioaccumulate in
fat tissue. The method was developed by using the QuEChERS extraction
technique followed by analysis through gas chromatography coupled
with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Validation was performed on bovine
fat, followed by application to human adipose tissue samples provided
by the Plastic Surgery Unit of the University Hospital of Padua. Fourteen
PAHs were validated with method detection (MDLs) and quantification
(MQLs) limits ranging from 0.11 to 4.13 and 0.30 to 13.76 ng g–1, respectively. Phenanthrene, anthracene, and pyrene
were detected in human samples, with pyrene quantified between 2.34
and 4.88 ng g–1. To our knowledge, this is one of
the few methods for the determination of these compounds in such a
complex matrix and the only one that successfully combines QuEChERS
and GC-MS.