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Abstract
This report describes the development of a method to measure metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human urine. Humans are exposed to many chemicals and carcinogens through diet, life-style, medicine and occupation. Determination of internal dose of such materials is made difficult by complex mixture exposures and the relatively small amounts of specific chemicals that constitute these exposures. The data presented here show that individuals undergoing Goeckerman therapy (topical application of coal tar and UVB) excrete larger amounts of benzo[a]pyrene and pyrene metabolites than untreated individuals. By using immunoaffinity chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy it has been possible to determine levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in persons treated medicinally with coal tar. Urinary levels of a tetrol metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene (r7,t8,t9,c10-tetrahydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene) varied from undetectable - 330 fmol/ml in psoriasis patients and were observed only as high as 40 fmol/ml in non-coal tar treated controls. Urinary levels of a more polar metabolite, identified as the glucuronide conjugate of 1-hydroxypyrene, were determined to be 180–50,000 fmol/ml in psoriasis patients and 30 – 650 fmol/ml in controls.