Quantitative identification of atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites in plasma

The objective of this study was to develop an analytical method to detect and quantitate the chlorotriazine herbicide atrazine (ATRA), and its chlorinated metabolites [desethylatrazine (DE-ATRA), desisopropylatrazine (DI-ATRA), and diaminochlorotriazine (DACT)] in plasma. Control plasma separated from whole rat blood was fortified with known concentrations of ATRA, DE-ATRA, DI-ATRA, and DACT. These compounds were extracted from the plasma using a liquid-liquid extraction technique, and the resulting extracts were derivatized with tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide and methyl iodide to produce methylated derivatives of ATRA and its chlorinated metabolites. Derivatized samples and standards were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. Recoveries of fortified plasma samples ranged from 84% to 97% and were validated to 100 ng/mL. This analytical method was subsequently verified in a small-scale animal study to determine time course concentrations of chlorotriazines in plasma following a single oral gavage dose of ATRA to female Sprague Dawley rats.