Measurement of nicotine in blood of birds by reverse phase HPLC. Elimination of nicotine in pigeons. Preliminary data.

CID, FD; CHEDIACK, JG; CAVIEDES-VIDAL E

Uspallata - Mendoza

Congreso; XXIII Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2005

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

Measurement of nicotine in blood of birds by reverse phase HPLC. Elimination of nicotine in pigeons. Preliminary data. Cid FD, Chediack JG, Caviedes-Vidal E. Laboratorio de Biología. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Email fabricio.cid@gmail.com   Wild animals are exposed to xenobiotics. These compounds are absorbed by the intestine by transcellular and paracellular routes depending on the size and charge of the molecule, its water solubility and the presence of transporters on the apical membrane of the enterocytes. The nicotine is a water-soluble toxin present in several plants consumed by birds. An interesting problem in ecotoxicology is to know how much nicotine is absorbed by the bird?s intestine. We present here an adapted technique to assess nicotine in blood samples of pigeons (Columba livia) using RP-HPLC with electrochemical detection based on the method of Mahoney and Al-Delaimy (2001) designed specifically to determine the toxin in hairs. Furthermore, we present as an application example, the kinetics of nicotine elimination from blood after an intramuscular injection. Nicotine in plasma sample was extracted with dichloromethane. The solution was evaporated and the residue, in phosphate buffer, was analyzed by HPLC with a reverse phase C18 column in isocratic condition and a flow of 1 ml/min of solvent (50 mM KH2PO4: 2,5% MeOH: 4% acetonitrile?pH4,8). The detector used was an electrochemical detector (oxidation potential: +1,10 v, sensibility: 200 nA v-1). The detection limit of nicotine was 1,2 ng/ml plasma. The elimination of nicotine from blood shows an apparent first order kinetics. This method is suitable for assaying low nicotine levels in plasma. Supported by CyT-UNSL 22/Q451 to ECV.