The determination of organotin compounds in human blood of the Maltese population (Central Mediterranean)

Abstract

The extent of exposure to organotin compounds (OTC) in humans may be analytically investigated through the analysis of body fluids, including blood. Little research has been conducted on this subject internationally, and none has been registered locally. Comprehensive data pertaining to indoor and outdoor dusts has however been gathered for several environmental reservoirs in Malta. This work describes a preliminary study on the occurrence of the main three OTCs (tributyltin (TBT), dibutyltin(DBT) and monobutyltin(MBT)) in the blood of 44 human subjects. Analytes were detected and quantified by GC-FPD after derivatisation and extraction. The study showed a fairly common occurrence of MBT (50% of the samples) and also detected DBT and TBT in 14% and 34% of the samples, respectively. Quantified samples were found to contain DBT and TBT levels within ranges of 6.8 - 26.1 ng Sn mL-1 and 2. 7 - 31.2 ng Sn mL-1, respectively. The results were, by and large, comparable to studies on human blood, conducted in the US, approximately fifteen years ago.