Arsenic speciation in human urine: are we all the same?

We studied the arsenic speciation in human urine samples by using high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). We investigated the arsenic speciation in the urine collected from nine volunteers during a 3-day period after a meal of blue mussels, Mytilus edulis. We also studied the effect of cooking on the arsenic speciation. Arsenobetaine and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA) were the major arsenic metabolites found in the urine samples. Significant amounts of unknown metabolites were also detected. The excretion patterns of arsenic from individuals were generally similar except for two subjects. One of whom excreted high amounts of arsenobetaine even though no arsenic-rich food was eaten for 3 days before the experiment. The results reveal that we need a better understanding of the metabolism of arsenic compounds by human.