Quantitative detection of bisphenol A and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether metabolites in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

Due to the ubiquity of epoxy resin compounds and their potential role in in creasing the risk for reproductive dysfunction and cancer, the need for an assessment of human exposure is urgent. Therefore, we developed a method fo r measuring bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) meta bolites in human blood samples using high-performance liquid chromatography -electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Human blood samples wer e processed using enzymatic deconjugation of the glucuronides followed by a novel sample preparation procedure using a solid-phase-cartridge column. T his selective analytical method permits rapid detection of the metabolites, free BPA and a hydrolysis product of BADGE (BADGE-4OH) with detection limi ts in the low nanogram per milliliter range (0.1 ng ml(-1) of BPA and 0.5 n g ml(-1) of BADGE-4OH). The sample extraction was achieved by Oasis HLB col umn on gradient elution. The recoveries of BPA and BADGE-4OH added to human plasma samples were above 70.0% with a standard deviation of less than 5.0 %. This selective, sensitive and accurate method will assist in elucidating potential associations between human exposure to epoxy-based compounds and adverse health effects. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .