Novel Analysis of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Post Mortem Human Brain Tissue by Gas Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The dangers of exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been substantiated by emerging information about their toxic effects. PBDEs have been detected in comparable concentrations among all age groups because of their lipophilic nature, ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify, and continued use. The ubiquitous presence of PBDEs has given rise to varied hypotheses regarding their role in neurological disease. To address this information gap, we developed and validated a novel method for the analysis of PBDEs in post mortem human brain tissue to better understand PBDEs’ association to the progression of neurodegenerative disease. The procedure involves a solvent extraction of homogenized brain tissue and a liquid-liquid extraction of the resulting supernatant followed by solid-phase extraction with Florisil sorbent.  Extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry with limits of detection in the low pg/g range with good accuracies (100±20%) and precision (relative standard deviations <15%).  The final validated methodology was applied to human brain tissue (n=75) of decedents with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or no neurodegenerative disease. To our knowledge, we are the first to confirm measureable levels of PBDEs in both diseased and healthy human brain tissue. This innovative study will provide the basis for future investigations and enable the progression of epidemiological studies aimed at ascertaining the associations between exposure to PBDEs and their potential for causing neurodegenerative disease.