Hippuric Acid, Methylhippuric Acids, Mandelic Acid and Phenylglyoxylic Acid in Urine - HPLC

Clinical relevance
Hippuric acid, o-, m-, p-methylhippuric acid, mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid are the main metabolites of the organic solvents: toluene, xylene, and styrene. These toxic compounds are widely used throughout various industries, making the determination of their concentrations relevant to occupational health in a number of different professional fields. Due to their high levels of volatility, they primarily enter the body through inhalation and are rapidly absorbed through the lungs. For occupational health monitoring of people who are exposed to these compounds at work, measurement of the metabolites in urine is more reliable than determining the concentrations of the toxins in the blood, due to their very fast metabolism rates.

For any hazardous substance or its metabolite, a BTV (Biological Tolerance Value) is defined as a threshold value for maximum absorption in biological material. Solvent-related harm to human health can be prevented by performing regular monitoring of urine.

The Chromsystems assay
This assay allows the simultaneous quantitative determination of hippuric acid, ortho-, meta-, and para -methylhippuric acid, mandelic acid as well as phenylglyoxylic acid in patient urine samples by HPLC.

It is intended as a test for patients whose levels of metabolites in urine act as a marker of styrene, toluene or xylene are exposed following an occupational medicine investigation should be monitored.

Detailed performance data for this assay can be found in the appendix of the instruction manual.