The fluorimetric estimation of 3:4-benzpyrene in whole mice

Abstract

A method for the fluorimetric estimation of 3:4-benzpyrene in mice is described with a range from 0.5-300 7. The method is easily adaptable to the estimation of larger quantities. The principal steps are: lysis of the tissue in hot alcoholic NaOH, extraction with light petroleum, purification by chromatographic adsorption and fractional elution and finally photoelectric measurement of fluorescence intensity. The evaluation of results requires the application of corrections for a blank and for incomplete recovery of added benzpyrene. The limit of sensitivity is detd. by the blank, i.e., the fluorescence intensity of extracts from benzpyrene-free mice, which was 0.50 7 in terms of benzpyrene on the avg. The blank is the same in both sexes, but increases somewhat with the wt. of the animal. The mean recovery was 87.36%. The standard error of recovery expts., after correction for blank and losses, varied between 2.3 and 5% in the range from 3-300 7. It rose to 25.5% for 0.5 7, as compared with a standard error of 23.4% to be expected on the basis of the standard deviation of the blank.