ABSTRACT
The mechanisms underlying an organism’s response to a toxic insult are usually complex, involving the toxicant itself, metabolites derived from it, and numerous tissuederived endogenous compounds. The ability to monitor the chemical changes that result from intoxication is critical to understanding these mechanisms. Our ability to monitor chemical changes associated with intoxication has often limited our mechanistic understanding of toxicity. The development of gas chromatography in the 1950s and 1960s extended the lower range for detecting chemical changes in organisms and in the environment. The realization that exposure to chemicals such as DDT was widespread and that these chemicals could concentrate in the food chain fueled the development of modern toxicology. This early breakthrough in instrumental analysis led to the development of a host of powerful instruments and techniques that have profoundly increased our ability to define mechanisms of toxicity. Because each instrumental method has both strengths and limitations, it is important for toxicologists to be aware of available analytical methods and to understand the types of studies for which each is suited.
