The determination of detection and quantitation limits in human biomonitoring
Biomonitoring Methods, Conceptual Topics – Translation of the German version from 2024
Wolfgang Gries1Gerhard Scherer2
Michael Bader3
Thomas Göen4 (Head of the working group “Analyses in Biological Materials” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Andrea Hartwig5 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission6
1 Currenta GmbH & Co. OHG, CUR-SIT-SER-GS-BLM – Institute for Biomonitoring, Chempark, Building Q 18, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany
2 ABF Analytisch-Biologisches Forschungslabor GmbH, Semmelweisstraße 5, 82152 Planegg, Germany
3 BASF SE, Corporate Health Management, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
4 Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9–11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
5 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
6 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
The working group “Analyses in Biological Materials” of the German Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area (MAK Commission) has evaluated six different procedures for the calculation or estimation of the detection and quantitation limits determined in the validation process of biomonitoring methods. Using the example of the biomonitoring parameter 1-hydroxypyrene in urine, the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches are considered, and all procedures are critically evaluated and discussed. In summary, the Commission does not recommend one preferred method for the calculation of detection and quantitation limits, but rather a careful consideration and fit-for-purpose check of the chosen procedure. A thorough documentation of the selected approach and its results is an essential part of a method description.
