Levels of Sulfite in Three Organs from Mice Exposed to Sulfer Dioxide

Abstract

To study whether sulfur dioxide (SO₂) can enter into the different organs of mice exposed to SO₂, the sulfite contents in brains, hearts, and lungs from male mice were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD). After reduction and precolumn derivation of tissue homogenates of brains, hearts, and lungs from mice, the mixture was centrifuged, and 5μl of the resulting supernatant was directly injected into HPLC; the mobile phase consisted of methanol–phosphoric acid (12:88, v/v), and for the fluorescence detection λ_EX 392 nm andλ_EM—479 nm were used. The standard curve was linear in the range from 0.126 μg/ml to 126 μg/ml; the minimal detectable concentration was 0.04μg/ml (S/N = 3), the average methodological recoveries were from 97% to 101%, and the within-day and between-day precisions were less than 9%. These results showed that sulfite contents in all organs tested from mice in the SO₂-exposed groups were significantly increased (p < .05) in a dose-dependent manner (r > .92) compared with the control groups. These results indicated SO₂ could transform into sulfite in vivo after inhalation, and could distribute into lung and other organs such as brain and heart. These results offered a support for the viewpoint that SO₂ is a systemic toxic agent.