Abstract Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) are a group of volatile organic compounds that human exposure to them may result in the development of some diseases, including cancer. Biological monitoring plays an important role in exposure assessment of workers occupationally exposed to chemicals. Several metabolites have been proposed for biological monitoring of individuals who are exposed to BTEX. There are a variety of extraction methods and analytical techniques for the determination of unmetabolized BTEX in exhaled air and their urinary metabolites. The present study aimed to summarize and review the toxicokinetics of BTEX and sample preparation and analytical methods for their measurement. Metabolites of BTEX are discussed to find out reliable ones for biological monitoring of workers exposed to these chemicals. In addition, analytical methods for unmetabolized BTEX in exhaled air and their metabolites were reviewed in order to obtain a comparison between them in term of selectivity, sensitivity, simplicity, time, environmental-friendly and cost. Given the recent trends in sample preparation, including miniaturization, automation, high-throughput performance, and on-line coupling with analytical instrument, it seems that microextraction techniques, especially microextraction by packed sorbents are the methods of choice for the determination of the BTEX metabolites.

中文翻译：

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苯、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯：生物监测的当前分析技术和方法

摘要 苯、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯 (BTEX) 是一组挥发性有机化合物，人类接触它们可能导致某些疾病的发展，包括癌症。生物监测在职业暴露于化学品的工人的暴露评估中发挥着重要作用。一些代谢物已被提议用于对接触 BTEX 的个体进行生物监测。有多种提取方法和分析技术可用于测定呼出空气中未代谢的 BTEX 及其尿液代谢物。本研究旨在总结和回顾 BTEX 的毒代动力学及其测量的样品制备和分析方法。讨论了 BTEX 的代谢物，以找出对接触这些化学品的工人进行生物监测的可靠代谢物。此外，综述了呼出空气中未代谢的 BTEX 及其代谢物的分析方法，以便在选择性、灵敏度、简单性、时间、环境友好和成本方面进行比较。鉴于样品制备的最新趋势，包括小型化、自动化、高通量性能以及与分析仪器的在线耦合，微萃取技术，尤其是填充吸附剂的微萃取似乎是测定 BTEX 代谢物的首选方法.