TITLE:
Development of simple HPLC/UV with a column-switching method for the determination of nicotine and cotinine in hair samples
AUTHORS:
Masayoshi Tsuji, Yayoi Mori, Hideyuki Kanda, Teruna Ito, Tomoo Hidaka, Takeyasu Kakamu, Tomohiro Kumagai, Takehito Hayakawa, Yoneatsu Osaki, Tetsuhito Fukushima
KEYWORDS:
HPLC/UV; Column-Switching Method; Nicotine; Hair; Cotinine
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
18,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Nicotine and cotinine in hair
are good biomarkers for assessing long-term exposure to smoking. However, analytical
devices such as GC/MS are associated with high cost and are not widely used. HPLC/UV is used widely in laboratories, but is unsuitable for measurement of minor
constituents, except when using the column-switching method. Thus, we
aimed to establish a simple, inexpensive and sensitive method based on HPLC/UV
with column switching for measuring nicotine and cotinine in hair. First, we
compared the presence and absence of a column selection unit. We then measured
amounts of nicotine and cotinine in hair samples collected from the general
population, and compared both the corresponding levels and the detection
limits with those in previous studies. Finally, initial and running costs of
HPLC/UV were compared with other analytical methods. As one of the results, the
areas of nicotine and cotinine measured by HPLC/UV with column-switching method
were 12.9 and 16.9 times greater, respectively, than those without the
column-switching method. The amount of nicotine and cotinine in hair was significantly
correlated to number of cigarettes smoked per day (r = 0.228, p = 0.040). In
addition, the HPLC/UV method showed similar sensitivity and detection limit
(nicotine, 0.10 ng/mg; cotinine, 0.08 ng/mg) as reported in previous studies.
The cost of the HPLC/UV method is lower than that of other analytical methods. We
were able to establish a low-cost method with good sensitivity for measuring
nicotine and cotinine in hair. The HPLC/UV with a column-switching method will
be useful as a first step in screening surveys in order to better understand
the effects of smoking exposure.