NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM), Fifth Edition

NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) 5th Edition 

BACKUP DATA REPORT 

NIOSH Method No. 8322

Title: Trichloroacetic acid in Urine

Analyte: Trichloroacetic acid

Author/developer:Don C. Wickman, James B. 

Perkins, John M. Reynolds 

Date: 4/8/2014

Disclaimer: Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, 

citations to websites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of the sponsoring 

organizations or their programs or products. Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of 

these websites. All web addresses referenced in this document were accessible as of the publication 

date. 
TRICHLOROACETIC ACID IN URINE

NMAM 8322, ISSUE 1 

BACKUP DATA REPORT

DON C. WICKMAN

JAMES B. PERKINS

JOHN M. REYNOLDS

Draft: December 8, 2005; 

Edited: May 30, 2012

Final Version: April 8, 2014

Contract CDC-200-2001-0800

Submitted To:

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health

Robert A. Taft Laboratories

4676 Columbia Parkway

Cincinnati, Ohio 45226

Submitted By:

ALS Environmental

(Formerly DataChem Laboratories, Inc.) 

960 West LeVoy Drive

Salt Lake City, Utah 84123-2547
TRICHLOROACETIC ACID IN URINE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 

II. REAGENTS........................................................................................................................... 2 

III. MATERIALS ......................................................................................................................... 3 

IV. SAMPLE PREPARATION ........................................................................................................ 3 

V. INSTRUMENTATION AND ANALYSIS CONDITIONS ................................................................ 4 

VI. PERCENT COMPLETION OF THE DERIVATIZATION REACTION ............................................... 6 

VII. REACTION KINETICS ........................................................................................................... 8 

VIII. LIMIT OF DETECTION AND LIMIT OF QUANTITATION DETERMINATION

FOR METHOD DEVELOPMENT SPIKING LEVELS ................................................................. 9 

IX. EXTRACTION EFFICIENCY AT 3×, 10×, 30×, AND 100× LOQ ............................................... 9 

X. PRECISION AND ACCURACY .............................................................................................. 10 

XI. LONG TERM STORAGE ...................................................................................................... 11 

XII. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 16 

XIII. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 16 

APPENDIX 1 ....................................................................................................................... 19 

APPENDIX 2 ...................................................................................................................... 20
TRICHLOROACETIC ACID IN URINE

I. INTRODUCTION

Trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) in urine has been documented to be from several sources. It

is one of several metabolites found due to exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) [1-3] either from 

inhalation of trichloroethylene vapors or ingestion of trichloroethylene contaminated water [4]. 

TCAA is also one of the metabolites of other chlorinated compounds, such as methyl chloroform 

and tetrachloroethene. 

TCE is produced in the United States by two companies, the Dow Chemical Company 

and PPG Industries. In 1998, demand in the United States was about 171 million pounds, of 

which about 15 million pounds was imported. Approximately 84 million pounds were exported. 

 TCE is a stable, non-flammable solvent which is used as a degreaser for metal parts, in dry 

cleaning, as a paint and lacquer thinner, as an extraction solvent and as an intermediate in the 

production of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants [5]. Its human carcinogenicity, while studied 

extensively, has proved inconclusive [2-6]. 

Chlorinated drinking water is another source of TCAA [7-10]. In the case of chlorinated 

drinking water, TCAA is one of several disinfection by-products as opposed to being formed in 

vivo. Chloroform, TCAA, and chlorophenols have been detected in treated water [11]. 

TCAA has been classified as a possible human carcinogen [12]. Even with this possible 

carcinogenicity, solutions containing TCAA as an ingredient are used for cosmetic treatments, 

such as chemical peels, tattoo removal, and the treatment of warts, including genital warts [13]. 

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Caution should be used in the evaluation of urinary TCAA levels. TCAA is a nonspecific metabolite of several compounds. Urinary TCAA levels reflect exposure to any and all 

of these precursors. Background TCAA was detected in 76% of urine samples in a US general 

population sample with a median concentration of 3.3 μg/L...approximately 300 times lower 

than the range of this method [10].

A number of methods have been used to quantify TCAA. The Fujiwara Method was used 

by Bernauer [2] and Raaschou-Nielsen, et al. [3]. This method, which dates to 1914, is based on 

the reaction between pyridine and TCAA in an alkaline medium followed by spectrophotometric 

detection at 530 nm. Isotope-dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray 

ionization tandem mass spectrometry was used by the Kuklenyik/Calafat group [8, 10]. 

Methylation procedures, using either boron trifluoride (BF3) /methanol [1], diazomethane [4, 11], 

or a methanol/sulfuric acid esterification procedure [7, 9], all followed by gas chromatography, 

have also been employed. The use of a dynamic headspace method with gas 

chromatography/mass spectrometry has been investigated [14]. An excellent review article of 

analytical methods used to determine TCAA and other metabolites of TCE more thoroughly 

covers work in the field [15]. In this method, the procedure used by O’Donnell [1] with some 

modifications will be used.

II. REAGENTS

Reagent Vendor Grade/purity Lot #

Toluene Burdick & Jackson HPLC CM156

Sodium trichloroacetate Aldrich 97% 11827HB

Methyl trichloroacetate

Boron trifluoride/methanol 14%

Sodium sulfate, anhydrous

Aldrich

Sigma

Fisher

99 %

N/A

Reagent

06830TB

104K5321

046962RW

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Sodium trichloroacetate was used instead of TCAA for all phases of this method 

development as well as in the preparation of standards. TCAA is very hygroscopic; the salt is 

much less so. 

Conversion factor of sodium trichloroacetate to the acid:

MW sodium trichloroacetate = 185.37 g/mol. MW TCAA = 163.39 g/mol. 

Conversion factor = 163.39/185.37 = 0.8814. 

III. MATERIALS

1. Polypropylene centrifuge tubes, 15-mL, with screw cap. VWR Cat. # 21008-089 or

equivalent.

2. Disposable Pasteur pipettes, 6" & 9".

3. Test or culture tubes, ~8-mL (13 mm x 100 mm), screw top with PTFE-lined caps.

4. Gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD), autosampler and data

collection system.

5. Microliter syringes for making standard solutions and GC injections.

6. Various glass volumetric flasks for preparing standards.

7. Adjustable pipettor, 1-5-mL, and tips.

8. Adjustable pipettor, 100-200 μL, and tips.

9. Glass wool

10. Vortex mixer.

11. Oven capable of maintaining 60 °C.

IV. SAMPLE PREPARATION

Into an 8-mL glass test tube with a PTFE-lined cap, 200 μL sample and 500 μL

BF3/methanol are combined. The mixture is heated to 60 °C. The tube is cooled and 2 mL 

toluene is added and vortexed for ~60 seconds. After the phases separate, an aliquot of the top, 

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organic layer is passed through a Pasteur pipette containing approximately a 1 cm deep bed of 

anhydrous sodium sulfate. The effluent is collected in a 2-mL GC vial for analysis. 

V. INSTRUMENTATION AND ANALYSIS CONDITIONS

Instrument: Hewlett-Packard Model 5890 gas chromatograph with autosampler and electron 

capture detector (GC-ECD). Makeup gas was nitrogen at 40 mL/min. 

Column: DB-624 fused silica capillary (75 m x 0.53 mm, 3 μm film thickness)

Oven Conditions: 80 °C held for 0.5 minutes, ramped to 180 °C at a rate of 20 °C per minute, 

held for 7 minutes. Total run time, 12.5 minutes. 

Injector: One microliter injected. Injector temperature 250 °C. Splitless for 0.5 minutes.

While only one major peak appears in the chromatogram (Figure 1), toluene appears to 

extract other non-volatile material from the urine which, in a short time, causes the injection 

syringe to seize up. The combination of syringe rinse solvents found to alleviate this problem 

was to first rinse with 1:3 acetic acid:water, followed by a second rinse with 1:1 

methanol:acetone between each sample injection. 

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Trichloroacetic Acid in urine: Back-up Data Report Last Updated: March 26, 2014 Intensity

Figure 1. Chromatogram of trichloroacetic acid methyl ester

Time (min)

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VI. PERCENT COMPLETION OF THE DERIVATIZATION REACTION

The percent completion of the derivatization reaction, or derivatization efficiency, was

determined by comparing the GC peak response for TCAA carried through the derivatization 

process to that of a liquid standard of authentic TCAA methyl ester (also known as methyl 

trichloroacetate. 

In the first step, the response factor for pure TCAA methyl ester was determined. A liquid 

standard of TCAA methyl ester was prepared by diluting 10.69 mg of the 99% pure ester in 7.0 

mL toluene to give 1512 μg/mL after correcting for the purity. A 1:10 dilution of this was 

prepared, giving a 151.2 μg/mL solution. Finally, a 2 μL aliquot of this diluted solution was 

added to 2 mL toluene to give a solution containing 0.1512 μg/mL as TCAA methyl ester. 

An analysis of this diluted solution according to the GC conditions given in Section V 

gave a GC peak with an area of 24289.5. The response factor was calculated by dividing the 

observed peak area by the concentration of the liquid standard: 

RF = GC Peak Area = 24289.5 = 160645 

Conc, μg/mL 0.1512 

In the second step, the derivatization efficiency was calculated from an analysis of a 

simulated sample at the 10× limit of quantitation (LOQ) level using TCAA. The concentration of 

a 10× LOQ sample was 3.0355 μg/mL as TCAA. A 200 μL aliquot of a 10× LOQ sample was 

taken for analysis. Theoretically it contains 0.6071 μg as the amount of TCAA that is will be 

subjected to derivatization (at 60 °C and 180 minutes reaction time): 

3.0355 μg/mL × 0.2 mL = 0.6071 μg. 

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Extracting the derivative into 2.0 mL toluene gives a final theoretical concentration of 

0.30355 μg/mL as TCAA. To convert to the methyl ester, the ratio of the molecular weights 

(MW) was used: 

MW TCAA methyl ester = 177.4145 g/mol

MW TCAA = 163.3877 g/mol

0.30355μg/mL × 177.4145 = 0.3296 μg/mL as TCAA methyl ester. 

163.3877 

In other words, 0.3296 μg/mL of TCAA methyl ester should be observed if derivatization 

is complete. 

However, the typical GC peak area for a 10× LOQ sample was only about 27500. Using 

the response factor calculated in step 1 for pure TCAA methyl ester (160645), the concentration 

of a GC peak with an area of 27500 is only 0.1712 μg/mL as the TCAA methyl ester, according 

to the following calculation: 

Concentration acid in μg/mL = 27500 = 0.1712 μg/mL as methyl ester. 

160645 

In other words, only 0.1712 μg/mL is observed instead of the theoretical 0.3296 μg/mL. 

Therefore, the percent derivatization efficiency is 52%, (0.1712 / 0.3296 x 100 = 52%). The 

consequence of this finding is that the calibration standards should be prepared from serial 

dilutions of TCAA that are subsequently derivatized, as opposed to preparing serial dilutions of 

the pure methyl ester.

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VII. REACTION KINETICS

A series of tubes was prepared with identical spikes of sodium trichloroacetate in water.

To each tube, 500 μL BF3/methanol was added, mixed and placed in a 60 °C oven. Periodically, 

a tube was removed, cooled, extracted with 2 mL of toluene and analyzed. The results are 

plotted in the graph below. 

Figure 2. Boron Trifluoride/Methanol/Trichloroacetate Reaction Kinetics:

O’Donnell [1] reacted the BF3/methanol with sodium trichloroacetate for 30 minutes. It 

appears from this experiment that the response would improve with a longer reaction time. 

Consequently, incubation times for the method will be a minimum of 90 minutes.

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VIII. LIMIT OF DETECTION/LIMIT OF QUANTITATION (LOD/LOQ)

DETERMINATION FOR METHOD DEVELOPMENT SPIKING LEVELS:

The LOD and LOQ were determined from a calibration curve as follows. Working

standards were prepared in water covering the range 21.08 μg/mL to 0.02108 μg/mL. A 200 μL 

aliquot of each standard was placed in an 8-mL test tube and mixed with 500 μL BF3/methanol. 

After capping, the tubes were heated at 60 °C for 2.5 hours. The tubes were cooled, extracted 

into 2.0 mL toluene, and analyzed as described previously. 

The LOD and LOQ were determined by Burkart’s [16] method. Using all the standards, 

the LOD was calculated to be 0.08 μg/mL and the LOQ was 0.3 μg/mL. All standards exhibited 

a peak in the appropriate retention time window. Spiking levels for the balance of the method 

development were calculated as follows:

Table 1. Method Spiking Levels:

Spiking Levels in μg/mL of Sample

Analyte 3× LOQ 10× LOQ 30× LOQ 100× LOQ

TCAA 0.9 3 9 30

IX. EXTRACTION EFFICIENCY AT 3×, 10×, 30×, AND 100× LOQ

Six replicate samples at each of the four spiking levels described above were prepared in

urine. Samples were mixed, derivatized, and analyzed as described previously. Results are 

tabulated below. 

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Table 2. Extraction Efficiency at Four Levels, All Data: 

X. PRECISION AND ACCURACY

Precision and accuracy calculation results are given in Appendix 1. No Grubbs outliers

were found. All six replicates for all four concentration levels were used in the calculations. All 

combinations passed the Bartlett’s test for homogeneity, but omitting the 3× LOQ level gave the 

lowest Chi squared (0.0853, see Line 2 in Section B of Table 2 in Appendix 1). 

When all concentration levels are used, the Chi2

 value was found to be 3.4493, and the 

overall precision (Srt) was 0.03655 (see Option#1 in Section 1 of Table 2 in Appendix 1). The 

bias was 0.01128 (see Option#1 in Section 1 of Table 2 in Appendix 1). Accuracy was 

calculated to be 7.5 % from these values [17].

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However, the F’ test passed only when the 30× LOQ level was omitted. Doing so gives a 

higher Chi squared and a negative mean bias, but not much change in the overall accuracy 

(7.65% instead of 7.50%). Nevertheless, recoveries at all levels were excellent (94.76%, 

102.29%, 110.41%, and 97.05% for the 3×, 10×, 30×, and 100× LOQ levels respectively) in spite 

of failure to pass the F’ test for all other combinations of concentration levels [17]. 

XI. LONG TERM STORAGE

Urine in 25-mL volumetric flasks was spiked with sodium trichloroacetate at 10×, 30×,

and 100× LOQ. The volumetrics were brought to volume with urine as needed and mixed. 

Several milliliters of each concentration were placed in 15-mL polyethylene centrifuge tubes and 

frozen at -17 °C for 7, 14, 21, 30, and 46 days. At the conclusion of the allotted time, a tube of 

each concentration was removed, allowed to thaw, and mixed by vortexing. Six 200-μL aliquots 

were placed in 8-mL tubes and derivatized as described earlier. The methyl derivatives were 

stored at -17 °C until analysis. Quantitation was against derivatized TCAA standards prepared 

from aqueous solutions. Results are plotted below and tabulated in Tables 3-5 following. 

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Figure 3. Trichloroacetic Acid in Frozen Urine Long Term Storage

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Table 3. Long Term Storage at 100× LOQ; All Data.

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Table 4. Long Term Storage at 30× LOQ; All Data.

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Table 5. Long Term Storage at 10× LOQ; All Data. 

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XII. CONCLUSIONS

TCAA is easily methylated by BF3/methanol. While the reaction does not go to

completion, it appears to be reasonably reproducible and independent of concentration. As with 

any multi-step derivatization/extraction procedure, experimental errors can be compounded. 

These errors may explain why the variation in recoveries causes difficulties with the F’ test in the 

statistical evaluation of the method. Other precision and accuracy criteria appear to be met. 

TCAA is stable in urine for at least 46 days when stored frozen at -17 °C.

XIII. REFERENCES

1. O’Donnell GE, Juska A, Geyer R, Faiz M, Stalder S [1995]. Analysis of trichloroacetic

acid in the urine of workers occupationally exposed to trichloroethylene by capillary gas

chromatography. J Chromatogr A 709:313-317.

2. Bernauer U, Birner G, Dekant W, Henschler D [1996]. Biotransformation of

trichloroethylene: Dose-dependent excretion of 2,2,2-trichloro-metabolites and mercapturic acids

in rats and humans after inhalation. Arch Toxicol 70:338-346.

3. Raaschou-Nielsen O, Hansen J, Christensen JM, Blot WJ, McLaughlin JK, Olsen JH

[2001]. Urinary concentrations of trichloroacetic acid in Danish workers exposed to

trichloroethylene, 1947-1985. Am J Ind Med 39:320-327.

4. Vartiainen T, Pukkala E, Rienoja T, Strandman T, Kaksonen K [1993]. Population

exposure to tri- and tetrachloroethylene and cancer risk: Two cases of drinking water pollution.

Chemosphere 27(7):1171-1181.

5. Trichloroethylene - White Paper, February 2001, Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance,

Inc., 2001 L Street N.W., Suite 506, Washington D.C. 20036,

http://www.hsia.org/white_papers/tri%20wp.htm (Accessed 27 May, 2005).

6. Bloemen LJ, Monster AC, Kezic S, Commandeur JNM, Veulemans H, Vermeulen NPE,

Wilmer, JW [2001]. Study on the cytochrome P-450- and glutathione-dependent

biotransformation of trichloroethylene in humans. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 74:102-108.

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7. Kim H, Haltmeier P, Klotz JB, Weisel CP [1999]. Evaluation of biomarkers of

environmental exposures: Urinary haloacetic acids associated with ingestion of chlorinated

drinking water. Environ Res 80:187-195.

8. Kuklenyik Z, Ashley DL, Calafat AM [2002]. Quantitative detection of trichloroacetic acid

in human urine using isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray

ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Anal Chem 74:2058-2063.

9. Froese KL, Sinclair MI, Hrudey SE [2002]. Trichloroacetic acid as a biomarker of exposure

to disinfection by-products in drinking water: A human exposure trial in Adelaide, Australia.

Environ Health Perspect 110(7):679-687.

10. Calafat AM, Kuklenyik Z, Caudill SP, Ashley DL [2003]. Urinary levels of trichloroacetic

acid, a disinfection by-product in chlorinated drinking water in a human reference population.

Environ Health Perspect 111(2):151-154.

11. Quimby BD, Delaney MF, Uden PC, Barnes RM [1980]. Determination of the aqueous

chlorination products of humic substances by gas chromatography with microwave emission

detection. Anal Chem 52:259-263.

12. US EPA [2011]. Trichloroacetic acid (CASRN 76-03-9). United States Environmental

Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0655.htm (accessed April 7, 2014).

13. http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/trichloroacetic-acid-orbichloroacetic-acid-for-genital-warts-human-papillomavirus Website accessed January 2015.

14. Johns DO, Dills RL, Morgan MS [2005]. Evaluation of dynamic headspace with gas

chromatography/mass spectrometry for the determination of 1,1,1-trichloroethane,

trichloroethanol, and trichloroacetic acid in biological samples. J Chromatogr B 817:255-261.

15. Delinsky AD, Bruckner JV, Bartlett MG [2005]. A review of analytical methods for the

determination of trichloroethylene and it major metabolites chloral hydrate, trichloroacetic acid

and dichloroacetic acid. Biomed Chromatogr 19:617-639.

16. Burkart JA. General procedures for limit of detection calculations in the industrial hygiene

chemistry laboratory. Appl Ind Hyg 1(3):153-155.

17. Kennedy ER, Fischbach TJ, Song R, Eller PM, Shulman SA [1995]. Guidelines for Air

Sampling and Analytical Method Development and Evaluation. Cincinnati, OH: National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 95-117.

Written By: Don C. Wickman, James B. Perkins, and John M. Reynolds. DataChem 

Page 17 of 23
Laboratories, Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah under NIOSH CDC Contract 200-95-2955 and CDC-200-

2001-08000. 

Edited By: John M. Reynolds and Roxanne W. Olson, ALS Environmental, formerly DataChem 

Laboratories, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. Further editing and User Check data added by Dale A. 

Shoemaker, Ph.D., NIOSH/DART/CEMB.

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APPENDIX 1. Precision and Accuracy for Trichloroacetic Acid:

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APPENDIX 2. User Check Results and Review:

User check samples were prepared by a CEMB researcher (Dr. Dale Shoemaker) to be 

analyzed by ALS Environmental using draft NMAM Method 8322. A total of 25 urine samples 

were prepared. The urine was obtained from personnel in the Taft building at NIOSH and then 

combined and mixed in the BHAB labs into a single pool of urine from which all samples were 

prepared. Five samples were left blank. Five samples were prepared containing the analyte at 

each of the following levels: 1.01 mg/L, 5.03 mg/L, 20.11 mg/L, and 100.6 mg/L. 60 mL of each 

level was prepared and then equally aliquotted into the five samples. The samples were prepared 

and shipped frozen to ALS Environmental on November 20, 2013 and arrived there the next day. 

The samples were analyzed on November 27, 2013. The sample preparation procedure and 

analytical conditions found in draft method 8322 were used with one minor change to the 

chromatographic temperature program. A higher final temperature and hold time were found to 

be necessary by ALS to ensure adequate cleaning of the chromatographic column. This change 

was approved by NIOSH ahead of time.

For this analysis, the Lower Limit of Quantitation (LLOQ) was determined by ALS to be 

0.10 mg/L for the compound of interest. As mentioned above, the spike levels ranged from 1.01 

to 100.6 mg/L which is 10 to 1000 times the LLOQ and fall within the method detection range of 

0.9 to 100 mg/L. 

The table (Table 1) below shows the data obtained from the User Check samples. TCAA

was not detected in any of the blank samples (which is to be expected; data not shown), so no 

corrections were required. A summary table (Table 2) of average recoveries and precision as 

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calculated by relative standard deviation (RSD) follows. 

Table 1

Spike 

ID

Target 

concentration 

(mg/L)

Concentration 

found (mg/L)

Recovery

(%)

3 1.01 0.80 79.21

8 1.01 1.30 128.71

12 1.01 1.30 128.71

18 1.01 1.30 128.71

24 1.01 1.10 108.91

6 5.03 2.70 53.68

13 5.03 5.60 111.33

15 5.03 5.70 113.32

16 5.03 5.60 111.33

22 5.03 5.30 105.37

1 20.1 20.0 99.50

5 20.1 13.0 64.68

17 20.1 22.0 109.45

20 20.1 20.0 99.50

21 20.1 19.0 94.53

2 100.6 98.0 97.42

7 100.6 110.0 109.34

10 100.6 100.0 99.40

14 100.6 110.0 109.34

23 100.6 110.0 109.34

Table 2

Spiked amount mg/L Average recovery (%) RSD (%)

1.01 114.85 18.9

5.03 99.01 25.8

20.1 93.53 18.2

100.6 104.97 5.7

Overall 103.09 18.7

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Statistical tests for outlier points (Dixon’s Q-test and Grubbs test) were performed on the 

data at each concentration level. No outliers were found at the lowest and highest levels by either 

test, but each of the two middle concentrations contained a point that was determined to be an 

outlier by both statistical tests (sample 6 at the 5.03 mg/L level (53.68%) and sample 5 at the 

20.1 mg/L level (64.68%)). Table 3 gives the summary values for accuracy and precision when 

these two rejected data points have been removed.

Table 3

Spiked amount mg/L Average recovery (%) RSD (%)

1.01 114.85 18.9

5.03 110.34 3.1

20.1 100.75 6.2

100.6 104.97 5.7

Overall 107.97 11.7

As can be seen, the precision for the two middle levels and for the data set as a whole 

improve when these two samples are rejected. The accuracy at every concentration level is within 

± 15% of the true value, which is acceptable for biological monitoring methods. The relative 

standard deviation (RSD) for each individual level ranges from 3 to 6% except for the lowest 

concentration level where it is 19%. These precision values (and the overall precision) are also 

well within acceptable limits. Two of the primary guidelines on bioanalytical method validation 

state that accuracy and precision should be within ± 15% at each level and within ± 20% at the 

lowest level [1, 2]. The contract lab reported no difficulties understanding the draft method nor in 

setting it up or analyzing the samples. The method has relatively few analytical steps, is quite 

straightforward, is sensitive enough to determine occupational exposures, and has been shown to 

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have adequate precision and accuracy. It is recommended that the method, NMAM Method 8322 

(Trichloroacetic acid in urine) be approved and accepted for inclusion in the NIOSH Manual of 

Analytical Methods.

Dale Shoemaker, PhD

Research Chemist

March 26, 2014 

References

[1] European Medicines Agency [2011]. Guideline on bioanalytical method validation.

[http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Scientific_guideline/2011/08/

WC500109686.pdf].

[2] FDA [2001]. Guidance for industry. Bioanalytical method validation.

[http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/Guidances/ucm070107.pdf].

Addendum – January 30, 2015 

Comments were added to the Evaluation of Method section on the recommendation of external 

reviewers. Concerns about outliers consisting 10% of the User Check samples were noted. 

Recommendation to include some levels of duplicate injections as well as duplicate analyses 

were added so these types of errors would be noticed if they occur. 

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