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

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.