IMMUNOENZYMATIC SERUM ANALYSIS OF ATRAZINE EXPOSURE AMONG MANUFACTURING WORKERS

This study assesses the feasibility of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the determination of atrazine in serum samples collected from twenty workers engaged in technical atrazine dust formulating and bagging processes. An assay was developed with the middle of the test (IC 50) at 0.08±0.02 µg/L, a limit of detection of about 100 ng/L and the coefficients of variation up to 8 %. Serum atrazine levels were interpreted taking into account the airborne concentrations of atrazine in the workplace atmosphere. The immunoenzymatic method itself is convenient, inexpensive and easy to use. It was, therefore, concluded that serum sampling of atrazine exposure among worker populations is a feasible biomonitoring method.